Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover
by JellyLollie
Summary: "So in other words, you're asking me to babysit a grown man with the sexual restraints of a hormonal teenager." He writes books, she publishes them. They're all connected somehow. Modern AU. No powers. Pairings: Jelsa, Hiccstrid, Kristanna, whatever the hell Rapunzel and Eugene is called and some other pairings that will remain a secret for now.
1. Chapter 1

Guardians was a book publisher headed by the one and only Mister Pitchinier Black and was responsible for launching some of the greatest names in the literary world. What started as a small back-of-the-room publishing house caught the eyes of big fishes in the corporative lunch table as its market value skyrocketed in a short span of eight years. The astounding publisher's growth led to its acquirement by the worldwide renowned, yet extremely elusive multimillionaire entrepreneur commonly known as the Man in the Moon himself. The Guardians was now one of the strong arms of the Walt-Katzenberg Group, home of the most read printed publications in the entire country.

Elsa Arendelle, 25, was one of the Guardians' most dedicated editors. Her importance to the company was undeniable, seeing as she was in charge of some of the biggest authors in the publishing house's care. Elsa was smart, resourceful, had a good eye for business and was capable of developing strong relations with writers. She was a talented professional, respected by her co-workers and generally appreciated by her assigned authors.

A small part of her job consisted of reading drafts people sent to the office. Reading until her eyes bled scavenging through piles and piles of stories for the actually profitable ones. Yes, it was a quite draining process, but one she enjoyed nonetheless. If anything, she wouldn't be opposed to dedicating more of her time to that. It was what drew her to the publishing word: just the pure love for books and appreciation for good writing.

So reading dull scripts actually beat the most glamorous parts of her daily work by a landslide. What could be considered a perk of the job was that she built very close relationships with her authors, going as far as becoming friends with a few celebrities along the way. As a publisher, she was responsible for helping writers deliver the best books they could, which unfortunately included having to deal with the eccentricities of some of them. Don't get her wrong, she respected the writers she was in charge of, and she held every and each one of them in really high regards. But sometimes, it was just too much to handle.

As a matter of fact, at that exact moment, she was having a little bit of a headache dealing with one of said precious authors. A very talented, fashion-forward young woman loved by the teenagers and an incredible addition to the Guardians' wall of published authors.

Megara was an It Girl in every sense of the term: trend-setter, confident, charismatic and iconic. Meg, as she was affectionately called by her fans, was also very strict and her work was impeccable always.

At the same time, Megara could be somehow picky and stubborn. She was very specific about certain things, aiming for perfection in the smallest of details, and demanding for everything to be done her way. It was always a struggle finding a deal between the author's vision and what would be most suited for the publishing house.

"So let me get this straight," Elsa said as the two women sat together in the office's lounge area, "you want to change the launch date of your new book." Again, she added inside her head knowing it would be more damaging than anything if such outrageous complement were to be said out loud.

"Yes," Megara said sipping her coffee and making a disgusted face. She put her cup down on the table with all the grace of a gazelle.

"Could I ask why?"

Megara rolled her eyes. "My stupid boyfriend wants to be there but he can't because he was forced into doing these ludicrous labors for his parents. Therefore the need to change the day of the party."

"Okay." Elsa nodded typing on her laptop. "I'll take care of the details. Your boyfriend is free on these days we highlighted, right?"

"Yeah."

"Is there anything else you would like to discuss?" Inside her head, she was already making a list of all the hired services she would have to call and calculating the extra cost of Megara's sudden change.

"Not that I can think of," Megara said with a nonchalant shrug.

"Then I'll check the venue's availability and I will call you as soon as I have a new date." Elsa closed her laptop and stood up.

Megara stood up as well. "Alright. Thanks, Elsa."

"I'm glad to be of help," Elsa said with a smile as she accompanied her author to the exit. She waved Megara goodbye through the glass until the elevator doors closed and the writer was finally out of sight.

Exchanging a tired smile with the receptionist, she passed through the lobby area rubbing circles her temples reaching her desk and let herself collapse on her chair.

"What's the matter, girl?" Wasabi, her tall, dark-skinned colleague asked from the desk beside hers.

"Meg wants to change the date of her launch party," Elsa said opening her laptop lid and turning the power on in the desktop computer.

"Again?" Rapunzel, her other co-worker asked as she offered her a warm mug of freshly brewed coffee.

"Uh-huh." Elsa took the mug from the blonde girl with a grateful smile. "Thanks."

Rapunzel stretched her arm over the desks to give Wasabi his beverage and settled into her own workspace, the desk in front of Elsa's.

"Isn't it a little too late for a date change?" Wasabi asked sniffing the delicious scent of the caffeinated drink and sighing with satisfaction.

Elsa let out a dry laugh of contempt. "Try telling her that."

"Miss Arendelle?"

The trio of editors looked up in the direction of the voice and saw their boss poking his head out his office and looking straight at Elsa.

"A word, please?" he said with his British accent and moved back inside.

"Great," Elsa mumbled before standing up. Her day just kept getting better and better.

"Yes, sir?" She stood by the office's doorframe uncomfortable as she watched her boss.

Pitch Black was leaning back on his leather swivel chair with his hands folded on his lap. His golden eyes were calm and solemn, which Elsa took as a not-so-bad sign. "Have a seat, Miss Arendelle," he said.

Elsa sat on one of the chairs in front of his desk, crossed her ankles, placed a hand over the other on her lap and waited.

Pitch took his sweet time agonizing Elsa as he chose his next words carefully. "It appears that North is coming today for a little chat, and he's bringing his dear nephew with him."

Elsa nodded unable to see why that piece of information should be relevant to her. Although she was technically North's editor, whenever he had work-related things to discuss, he would directly arrange a meeting with her. Besides, North and Pitch were old friends—North being the very first author published by the Guardians, way before becoming part of the Walt-Katzenberg Group—, and would occasionally meet up to chat.

Pitch turned on his chair. "Perhaps you have heard of him. Does the name Jack Frost ring any bells?"

Elsa frowned as her brain scanned through cabinets of memories trying to pull out all the information she could remember related to that name. "Writer. Known for action thriller novels. Didn't know he was Nicholas' nephew, though. Pretty sure he's published by the Magic Mirror."

"Well, not anymore," he said sketching a mischievous smile at the mention of their rival publishing company.

"I don't think I understand."

"Rumor has it that Mr. Frost's contract with Magic Mirror was ripped apart when he took the CEO's daughter to bed."

Elsa's eyes grew wide with surprise. She had never heard a thing about that quite scandalous rumor running through the publishing grapevines. "… Do we believe in that rumor?"

Pitch smirked at her. "We have reasons to believe in it, yes."

Elsa raised a skeptical eyebrow at him. "Them being?"

"His promiscuous history," he said nonchalantly.

She stared at her boss in disbelief. Although he possessed a dry, very refined humor, he was not one to indulge in jokes. Whatever he was planning, he was serious about it. "Okay," she said at last. "I think I see where you're going with this. You want to get Mr. Frost to sign a contract with us now that he's publisher-free."

Pitch chuckled, and she definitely didn't like that sound. "I actually would like you to get that, Miss Arendelle."

"All due respect, sir, but why me?"

Pitch turned his chair so he was facing his office through the glass wall. He watched with fascination as his employees worked obliviously. "Mr. Frost seems to have a preference for attractive ladies," he said. "I assumed you would have better chances of getting that contract than me."

Elsa kept staring at him incredulously. Was he really saying that with a straight face?

"My other option would be your cousin," Pitch continued as she still looked unconvinced, "but you and I know that Miss Corona wears her heart on her sleeve."

"Rapunzel also has a boyfriend," Elsa muttered, "whereas I am available."

Pitch nodded. "That too."

"Sir," she sighed rubbing her temples, "you're requesting that I prostitute myself in order to bring an author to the publisher."

"I requested no such thing, Elsa," he protested with a shrug. "All I'm asking is for you to take good care of him and show that the Guardians is a publishing house that believes in the well-being of our authors and puts their needs first."

Despite the elegant way of putting it, it still sounded a lot like prostitution to her, but Elsa opted for humoring her boss in the matter at hands. Heavens knew she would have no choice but to go along with his propositions. "So in other words, you're asking me to babysit a grown adult with the sexual restraints of a hormonal teenager."

Pitch intently looked at her as if trying to read her soul and find out her deepest secrets. "… That is exactly what I'm asking you to do."

Elsa shook her head falling against the backrest of her chair and staring at the ceiling. She made a note to ask HR to add 'babysitting' to the job description next time they wanted to hire a new editor. She let out a dry chuckle before saying, "Will I at least get a raise for that?"

* * *

H&H Inventions was a startup company focused on technological advances and innovative solutions founded by the geniuses Hiccup Haddock III and Hiro Hamada three years ago.

Although the company was still in its baby steps phase, thanks to the brilliance of its creators, they had successfully obtained the means necessary to move to their dream workspace in their short operation period. After long meeting with investors and finally obtaining the bank's approval for an exorbitant loan, they had their HQ: a duplex office—a well localized, modern space with an entire wall of glass to a breathtaking view of the city; two conference rooms; a workshop provided with the latest of technological equipment; a well-stocked kitchen; stylish furniture; and a comfortable rest area, with a good selection of leisure activities, designed for utter relaxation and enhancement of the team's creativity and productivity.

Their team, so to speak, was still fairly limited, but they were competent, worked well together and acted like a dedicated, ambitious, workaholic family. H&H had a very promising future ahead, as their current financial growth indicated, and every one of them strived for greater success.

It was an ordinary day in the office, with Hiccup hiding in the workshop tinkering with their next product, and Hiro using his fellow co-workers as guinea pigs to test out the latest version of his VR prototype.

The intercom rang and Violet went to answer it. The little screen came to life and she could see a blonde young woman with big green eyes standing in front of the building.

"Can I help you?" Violet asked.

The blonde cleared her throat. "Hi, my name's Sam Sparks, and I'm here on behalf of the interview for Scientist Only!"

"Oh," Violet groaned mentally facepalming herself. "Of course. I'll let you in now. You take the elevator at the end of the corridor and come to the sixth floor."

"Okay, thank you!"

She pressed a button to open the front door for the reporter, then turned on her heels and shouted to the rest of the room, "I need Genius One and Genius Two with me!"

She tapped her foot on the floor waiting, but no answer came.

"I don't think they can hear you, Vi," Wilbur, their lawyer, said from his seat on the couch. He lowered the newspaper he had been reading to look at her. "Hiccup is in the workshop and Hiro is probably wearing one of those VR headsets."

"Unbelievable," Violet hissed. "Can you let the girl from Scientist Only! in? I'm gonna get those two."

Wilbur nodded. "Sure."

With that, Violet stomped off first to the rest area upstairs and stopped right in front of her Asian-American boss. She called him, but as Wilbur had predicted, he didn't even react to the sound of her voice. She pressed the power button on the headset he was wearing.

"What—" Hiro mumbled looking around confused.

"Earth to Hiro. Playtime is over," she said crossing her arms.

Hiro pushed the headset and blinked a few times to adjust his eyes to the office light. "What the hell, woman?"

"You have an interview with a writer from that science magazine," Violet informed him gesturing to the young female Wilbur was letting inside the office downstairs. She did not give him time to complain as she turned around and headed back to the workshop.

She hated the workshop with every cell on her body and avoided going inside it as much as she could. Taking a deep breath, Violet opened the door and flinched at the deafening noise of the heavy machine Hiccup was using to cut a metal sheet. She stood in Hiccup's field of vision and waited with her hands covering her ears and a scowl on her face.

The auburn-haired guy noticed her and gave her a friendly smile. He pressed a button on the machine and it stopped moving, silencing the room. "Violet! What brings you to my domains?" he asked taking off his ear protectors.

"Interview with Scientists Only! right now," she said lowering her hands. "The girl is waiting for you in the lounge."

"Oh, that was today?" Hiccup asked running his hands through his hair trying to fix his disheveled look.

"I completely forgot too," Violet confided as they walked together. She watched with amusement as her other boss attempted to tame his hair. "It's a written interview, Hiccup. Nobody cares what you look like."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Aren't you the one who's always saying that we have to be careful how we look in public?"

"I don't think that magazine's demographic target cares much about your appearance," the girl mumbled through her gritted teeth.

"You sound sour."

"I wanted the business magazine, and they declined me." Violet glared at him indignantly. "What kind of story could possibly be more interesting than an exclusive interview with the prodigious duo of the century?!"

Hiccup shrugged. "It's still good advertisement."

She scoffed shaking her head. "Yeah, let me take care of the advertisement, Haddock. You just make sure you don't sound like a complete dumbass with your answers, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," he said with amusement and headed in the direction of the interviewer, who was already talking to Hiro.

Violet watched as they sat together and Miss Sparks pulled out a recorder from her purse. Wilbur walked to her and turned to look at the trio as well.

"Shouldn't you be there too?" he asked her.

"I probably should," she mumbled and begrudgingly dragged her feet to the ongoing interview.

Hi." She shook Sam's hand. "Violet Parr. We exchanged emails. Don't mind me," she said in a low voice as she sat on the couch beside the young reporter. "I'm just here on PR purposes."

"Oh, don't worry," Sam reassured her. "I'm only asking general questions, and they are free to answer as they please. Feel free to stop the interview any time you feel uncomfortable."

Violet nodded and gestured for the woman to go on with her work.

Sam straightened up and cleared her throat. "As I was saying, you two are making a name for yourselves with this company. Would you mind telling us how you guys met?"

"Well, we actually stalked each other online before officially meeting," Hiccup said sheepishly.

Hiro laughed. "You stalked me. I had no idea who you were."

"Excuse me?" Hiccup turned to glare at the younger guy incredulously. "Who reached out for who again?"

"Only after you kept throwing all these hints begging for my attention."

"Uh," Sam interrupted them shyly, "would you mind explaining that story with a little more details? I'm sure our readers would love to know more."

Violet discretely pinched the bridge of her nose. Leave it to her two so-called genius bosses to start a petty argument in front of the press. Even if it was just the nerd magazine, they still should be aware of how that could impact their image.

"Right…" Hiccup cleared his throat and looked back at the interviewer. "You know those huge scavenger hunts that a bunch of strangers play together?"

"I'm vaguely aware of those, but, please, proceed."

"When I was in college, I started playing one that was completely online, but had players from the entire world." Hiccup pointed to Hiro. "I didn't know back then, but Hiro was also participating in the game."

"People who cracked the puzzles were ranked. Different rankings for each task, and a general one for the whole hunt. I noticed that there was a username that was always at the top three of the lists. What was that?" Hiccup looked at Hiro making circular motions with his hand. "Something-bot-number-number…"

"Megabot14," Hiro said.

"Right." Hiccup nodded. "So we kept playing for weeks, I think, and at some point, we started competing against each other to see who solved the puzzles first. It was either Hiro or I at the top."

Violet closed her eyes. Of course, she had already heard that story before, and her feelings about it remained the same. The word 'dorks' was at the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed it discreetly.

"I let you win those times," Hiro stated.

"You keep telling yourself that, buddy," Hiccup replied with a roll of eyes. "So yeah, we kept competing without even knowing each other. I tracked his username and found that he played some other games too, but no contact was ever made."

Hiccup stopped to take a breath.

"But then, we reached an unsolvable puzzle," he continued. "It stayed unsolved for months. They said it was the last round."

"Neither of you could solve it?" Sam asked surprised.

"Nope," Hiro answered.

"One day, I got an encrypted message on my email," Hiccup said. "First I thought it was random spam and ignore it. But something about the email still bugged me. I cracked the code a few days later. The subject of the email read 'Greetings, Nightfury90', which was my username on the scavenger hunt website. And there was a screenshot of the last solved puzzle's rankings."

"Was that you?" Sam asked looking at Hiro.

"Yes."

"The little prick sent me an email as bait and waited for me to answer him." Hiccup glared at the Asian American guy but was ignored. "And I took the bait. I asked him how close he was to solving the puzzle."

"'Close', I replied," Hiro added.

"Which was total bullshit."

"Was not. I was definitely closer than you."

"Yeah, that's debatable."

"Boys?" Violet gently called their attention with a sweet smile on her face.

They recoiled as kids being scolded from their parent.

"So we decided to team up!" Hiccup said. "We compared notes and got a little closer to solving the puzzle."

"We worked together nonstop for two weeks," Hiro added.

"And ta-da-rah! We solved it!"

"I made sure that our answers were submitted at the exact same time, and we both received a congratulatory message with the coordinates for a location in the real world."

"So we went there together. That was the first time we ever met. Oh, man." Hiccup pinched Hiro's cheek affectionately. "You were so cute back then."

Hiro shoved him off annoyed. "And you were so scrawny. Oh, wait." Hiro raised an eyebrow at him. "You still are."

"Where was the location?" Sam asked completely absorbed by the story.

"None other than the Robinson Industries headquarters," Hiro informed smugly.

"Turns out the scavenger hunt's idealizer was Cornelius Robinson, the CEO of Robinson Industries."

"Oh my God!" Sam exclaimed excitedly. "That's so cool! The Cornelius Robinson himself?"

"Mr. Robinson took us to lunch and kept asking about our opinion on the tasks and how we had figured out this thing, or that thing and completely fangirling from entry to dessert," Hiro said with disdain.

Violet hissed. That was definitely not the way to talk about the man known as the Father of the Future, no matter how close those three were.

"And when we went back to his office, Mr. Robinson offered each of us an internship there," Hiccup said.

"That's amazing."

Hiro shrugged. "Yeah. So we interned there for a year. I went to the IT team, and Hiccup went to mechatronics."

"But we kept in touch even though we were working apart. And we became friends." Hiccup pulled Hiro into a loose headlock.

"We helped each other survive the internship," Hiro said with a roll of his eyes.

Hiccup nodded eagerly. "Robinson Industries were intense."

"And we were both still finishing college, and had other things to deal with in the outside world."

"After one hell of a year, Mr. Robinson hired us for real, but now with the two of us working on the New Burgess team."

"We worked together for three years under his direct supervision before leaving to start our own company."

"What did Cornelius Robinson think about you two leaving?"

Hiccup scratched his chin as he gave the question some thought. "I think he was a little upset, but he was also kinda proud of us. He was really supportive of our decision back then, even offering to be our investor."

"We declined, but he's still our techie godfather," Hiro added.

"Yeah, he helps with advice, and he gave us a coffee maker!" Hiccup gestured to the machine in the kitchen. "Mr. Robinson still looks out of us like we're part of his family."

"And William there"—Hiro pointed at the dark-haired guy reading his newspaper—"who's our lawyer, also happens to be Mr. Robinson's son."

Sam's eyes grew wide in surprise.

"We met while we worked there, and he climbed aboard the H&H ship in the very beginning of planning."

"So yeah, we started our company. At first, it was Hiccup and me, and Wilbur sometimes freelancing for us. Our 'office'"—Hiro did quotation marks with his fingers—"was the spare room in Hiccup's apartment…"

"We grew little by little, Mr. Robinson hooked us up with a few clients, we sold some of our inventions, hired our team members… and our latest big accomplishment was probably buying and reforming this place." Hiccup finished gesturing with his hands to the room around him.

"I think that answers how we met," Hiro said looking at the interviewer for confirmation.

"It sure does!" Sam agreed eagerly. "I don't think I can cut any of that answer off the article!"

"Does that mean we're getting a couple more pages for the coverage?" Violet asked with an arched eyebrow.

Sam laughed. "I wish." She rummaged through her note cards. "So… going back to your team a little, you said that at first, it was you two, and your lawyer. Is he your lawyer full time now?"

Hiccup nodded. "He is."

"What about the rest of the team?"

"Well. It's still a small team, but for now, it's enough for the amount of work we have." Hiccup gestured with his head in Violet's direction. "We have Violet, who's our PR manager. She's the one responsible for our company's visibility. She's always making sure that we look good to potential clients." Hiccup nodded for his partner to continue.

"And those two in the back"—Hiro stretched his neck to look at the pair who had been upstairs with him, but were now on their desks typing on their keyboards—"are Guy and Tinkerbell, our mini task force. IIt's thanks to them that we're able to complete any job on time. Tink is very creative and is always thinking outside the box. As for Guy, he was the last one we hired, but he learns fast, and he is being a good addition to the team."

"And that's all our family," Hiccup said smiling at Sam.

"Okay, let's talk about your production a little now," Sam said. "A part of your job consists of finding a solution to a client's demand, but you guys also develop inventions on your own, right?"

"Right." Hiccup folded his hands and placed them on his lap. "We work with clients in a very commercial perspective, because, you know, we have bills to pay, and we have a team that depends on this income. As for the internal projects, we like to picture ourselves as our own clients. We decide a problem together, and then we try to find ways to solve it. Those cases are generally directed toward social or environmental causes. But other times, we just want to have fun creating something together."

Violet nodded pleased. Despite their idiocy, they were handling the interview reasonably well. They were being charismatic, a little goofy, professional, passionate… It was a great image to sell to those nerdy readers. She wondered if those two had actually taken time to read the cards she had prepared for them. Whatever the case, she figured she could save them from the two hours lecture she had been preparing in her head.

"Can you give us an example of those internal projects?"

"We developed a medical robot in order to improve healthcare in hospitals," Hiro said. "We actually worked with my brother, who's a real doctor, to collect data concerning patient and professional needs, and generated a chip with over 10,000 different medical procedures. We hope that we can help democratize access to healthcare with that."

"Baymax, as we call him, was a prototype success, and its large-scale production is expected to start in two or three years," Hiccup informed.

"That is remarkable."

"Thank you."

"Our team works hard every day hoping that our efforts can help people in need and make their lives a little better," Hiro said.

Sam struggled for a moment to word her next topic of discussion and kept looking down at her notes. "I had other questions for you, but I think that this is the perfect ending for this interview." She stopped the recorder and put it back inside her purse.

Hiro and Hiccup let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Thank you so much for your time," Sam said standing up and shaking their hands.

"Thank you for talking to us," Hiccup said in return.

"Let me walk you out," Violet said gesturing to the door.

"I will make sure to send the final draft of the interview for approval," Sam informed her.

"We would appreciate that." They stopped by the elevator's doors. "If there's anything else you need, you have my email."

Sam smiled. "Of course. Same goes to you."

The elevator ringed and the doors opened. Sam pulled Violet for a quick hug. "Thank you so much."

Violet shook her head negatively. "I'm the one who should be thanking you."

Sam stepped inside the elevator and the doors closed. Violet rotated her neck and shoulders tiredly as she headed back to the office. As she walked inside, she found Hiccup sprawled across the sofa he had been occupying whining incoherently.

"I fucking hate interviews!" She could finally discern his words.

"Suck it up, Haddock," Violet said. "If it makes you feel better, you guys didn't ruin it as I was almost certain you would."

Hiccup lifted his head to glare at her. "Gee, thanks, Violet."

Violet shrugged and turned to walk to her desk.

"Stop being a baby and get back to work, you one-legged idiot," Hiro yelled from the kitchen. He closed the fridge's door and narrowed his eyes at the team with his hands on his hips. "Who was in charge of snacks today?"

Hiccup groaned with his face buried on the couch cushion. He raised his hand. "I was."

"Well, get off your scrawny butt and go get our snacks!"

"Alright, alright," Hiccup mumbled standing up. He went to his desk to get his wallet. "What do you guys want?"

"Meatballs," Wilbur said quickly.

"Spring rolls," Violet added.

"Popcorn," Guy mumbled.

"Honeycomb cake," Tinkerbell said.

"Spicy chicken wings," Hiro replied.

"Those aren't even sold in the same place!" Hiccup glared from one coworker to the other, but all of them continued with their tasks casually. He threw his hands in the air exasperated. "I'll just choose something on my own," he mumbled as he headed out.

* * *

She had spent the next hours either furiously typing away on her keyboard or tiredly apologizing on the phone, having to deal with Meg's date problem from earlier that morning. She would have to change the location of the party, meaning new posters, new invitations, new photos… everything would have to be redone. Some of the services would not be available as well, meaning she would have to hire a new catering company, and maybe also security. She could ask Marketing for help, but she knew Meg better than anyone in the office, and things would be easier if Elsa just took care of it on her own.

"Elsa?"

She looked up from her monitor to find Periwinkle, her assistant looking at her.

"Mr. Black asked me to tell you that Mr. North is on his way."

Elsa groaned. "Perfect." She opened one of the drawers, grabbed her makeup bag and stood up. "Thanks, Peri," she said with a smile to the girl before heading straight to the bathroom.

She set a twenty minutes timer on her cell phone and put the device down beside her bag. She leaned on the countertop and glared at her reflection. She reprimanded the woman staring back at her as if she could blame the person on the other side of the mirror for her decisions.

She still wasn't okay with the plan she and her boss had elaborated to lure Jack Frost into joining their writers' gallery.

There was a knock on the door.

"Hey, Cuz?" Rapunzel was looking at her worriedly. "Whatcha doing? And why the hell are you putting lipstick on?!"

Elsa ignored her as she continued applying the bright red to her lips. She saw from the corner of her eyes as Rapunzel crossed her arms.

"Elsa?"

Elsa sighed. "I'm supposed to entertain North's nephew," she said checking herself in the mirror and brushing her bangs with a comb.

"Did North ask you to do that?"

"No. Pitch did." She narrowed her eyes. Perhaps her tight bun was too strict for such an encounter. She untied it and ran her fingers through the length of her platinum blonde hair.

"What?" Rapunzel questioned with extreme confusion. "Who is he? How old is he? He better not be older than twelve. And what does 'entertaining' exactly imply?"

She started braiding her hair. "He's a famous writer. His name is Jack Frost, maybe you heard of him. According to my internet research, he's 27. I'm supposed to entertain him because Pitch wants Frost to write his next book with us. And as for entertaining, it pretty much means whatever Mr. Frost sees fit. Except for intercourse, apparently."

Rapunzel took a step back and hit the wall behind her. "What?!"

"Well." Elsa shrugged as she started loosening the hairdo and pulling a few strands of hair from the French braid. "Pitch didn't say it like that, but that's how I interpreted it." She stopped to look at her cousin. "Did I mention that he was kicked out of Magic Mirror because he slept with Grimhilde's daughter?"

"Elsa." Rapunzel leaned against the countertop, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

"Shhh!" Elsa hissed. "Would you mind keeping your voice down?" She put everything back inside her makeup bag and walked to the door.

"We're not done, young lady." Rapunzel followed her fuming out of her ears.

Elsa stopped herself from rubbing her temples before she ruined her makeup. "Punz, I love you, but shut up, please?"

Walking through the kitchen door, she saw their receptionist preparing coffee and setting the mugs on a silver tray. She stopped and backtracked, stumbling on her cousin in the process.

"Hey, Mavis," Elsa greeted the girl with a smile.

"Hi," Mavis said back as she pressed a sequence of buttons on the coffee machine and waited as it filled the last of her three mugs with the beverage. "North is here."

"I know. Are those for Pitch and his guests?" she asked gesturing to the hot drinks.

"Mhmm." Mavis placed the last mug on the tray.

"Want me to carry those for you?"

Mavis looked at her with confusion. "You sure? I know you have plenty of work to do with that Megara problem."

Elsa shrugged. "Yeah, don't worry about it. I should say hi to North anyway."

"In that case, thanks, Elsa," Mavis placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder in a gesture of gratitude.

"No problem."

Mavis walked past them and left the kitchen, leaving Elsa alone with her infuriated cousin.

Rapunzel was glaring at her with crossed arms. "What are you doing?" she asked bitterly.

Elsa walked to the cabinet and produced packets of sugar and cream. "I'm supposed to make a good first impression."

"Do you really think I'm gonna let you go in there?" Rapunzel stood on her way.

Elsa walked around her and started organizing the tray's contents. "If you don't want to explain yourself to your boss, yes, you are."

"Your well-being is obviously more concerning than Pitch yelling at me!" Rapunzel said stomping her feet. "I can't leave you with that-that… guy."

Elsa sighed. "Your trust on my ability to protect myself is very reassuring."

"I do trust you. It's him I don't trust."

Elsa laughed. "You don't even know him. Don't judge a book by its cover, remember?"

"I didn't even see its cover!"

"All the more reason why you should stop worrying and let me handle this."

Elsa's phone started beeping and she stopped the countdown. "Showtime."

"Elsa…"

"Relax, Rapunzel. I will be fine." Elsa gave the other girl her makeup bag. "Can you take this back to my desk?"

Rapunzel begrudgingly took it without meeting her eyes.

Elsa took the coffee tray and headed out of the kitchen. "What's the worst thing that could happen?" she asked as Rapunzel walked beside her.

"I can think of a million terrible things that could happen."

"You can tell me all about it when I come back," she said as they departed, Elsa going to Pitch's office and Rapunzel back to her own desk.

She struggled to knock while carrying the beverages and gave up before she could cause an accident. Wouldn't that be a scene to get his attention?

"Excuse me, sir?" she said smiling at the occupants of the room. "I brought your coffees."

"Miss Elsa!" Nicholas St. North, renowned children's book author stood up eagerly and opened his arms to greet her. "Such a joy to see you!"

"Hello, Nick." Elsa smiled gratefully as he took the tray from her hands. "How have you been?"

"Good. My neighbor is teaching me yoga." North unceremoniously put the tray on Pitch's desk spilling some of the mugs' steaming hot content. Her boss hissed under his breath. "I feel like I'm twenty again."

"Well, you do have that youthful glow."

North laughed a thunder-like laugh rubbing his protruding belly. "Come meet my nephew!" He gestured for the young man to stand up and slapped him heavily on the back. "This is Jack. He just came back to New Burgess."

Elsa took a quick look at North's nephew. He was as good-looking in real life as he was in those photos she had found on google. He was tall with broad shoulders, he had shiny silver hair and penetrating blue eyes. He held an easygoing smile, and she could imagine how true those rumors about him could be.

"Jack Frost," he said as he stretched out his right hand for her.

"Elsa Arendelle. It's a pleasure to meet you." She made sure to maintain eye contact as she shook his hand, giving it a confident amount of pressure and letting her fingers slide through his palm as she retrieved her hand.

He smiled at her. "Pleasure is all mine."

"Miss Elsa is my precious editor," North explained. "I would be lost without her."

"Is that so?" Jack asked with an arched eyebrow.

Elsa shook her head with modestly. "He's exaggerating."

"I call her My Special Snowflake," North said with a loud, goofy laugh that made Pitch groan as if in pain.

"Why don't you show Mr. Frost the office, Miss Arendelle?" Pitch suggested gently. "North and I have matters to discuss in private."

North, oblivious to the fact that Pitch and Elsa had already decided everything beforehand, clapped in agreement. "What an excellent idea! Jack," he said looking at his boy. "Go with her."

"Don't mind if I do," he said, his eyes not leaving hers.

"Shall we?" she asked gesturing to the door.

"We shall," he replied letting her leave the room first.

Completely out of her comfort zone, Elsa struggled to decide what she should say or do in order to keep his attention on her. Pitch suggested that she stay in full flirtatious mode while Jack was around, but she'd never been a good flirt. Still, lost at sea as she felt, she wondered if that was really the best approach. If Mr. Frost was as much of a player as they believed he was, she could assume that he didn't have any trouble getting dates every other day. Wouldn't the best plan of action here be to play hard to catch? Entice him? Push and Pull? Make him come after her?

Oh, God. What was she thinking? There was no way in hell she would be able to pull that sort of thing. Well, it was either that or risking her career in the book publishing world, so… She took a deep breath before getting to work.

"This is the main space of the office, she said gesturing to the islands of desks where people worked. "That over there"—she pointed at the left side of the room and gestured for them to begin walking—"is our legal department. Next to them are the Publicity and Marketing teams"—she placed a hand on his upper arm, the flirtatious gesture disguised as a way to get him to look at the specific areas as they proceeded with the office tour—"then Production with the Art Department and Editors. Some are in charge of manuscript reading, and others, like me, are the bridge between authors and the publisher while they develop their books."

Her friends were staring at her from their desks, and Elsa pointedly ignored the glares she was receiving from her cousin. She let go of Jack's arm and gave him a shy smile. "Would you like to see the rest of the office?"

He shrugged. "Whatever you think is best, Miss Arendelle."

Elsa nodded and led him around the office divisions. "Here we have one of the conference rooms," she continued explaining as they walked. "That's our Marketing Manager's office, the kitchen, and lounge-we usually have meetings with authors here. Bathrooms are over there. And this"—she stopped in front of a majestic black bookshelf in the wall that separated the reception from the rest of the office—"is probably the most important part of the Guardians."

"A bunch of old books?" Jack asked picking one up and inspecting its cover with contempt.

"These are the first books ever published by the Guardians. Every single one of them was selected by Mr. Black himself when he started the company, way before it was a part of the Walt-Katzenberg business. And this"—she picked a book she had memorized over the years—"is the very first book that started it all." She gave Jack the book with the front cover facing down.

He turned it in his hands and stared coldly at the cover. It was one of his uncle's books. The first book North had ever published in his whole career.

"Nicholas said that you were returning to the city," Elsa commented casually inspecting another book from the shelf. "Were you out long?"

"Yeah," he said putting the book back on its rightful place. "I was traveling for a while."

"Really? Where did you go?"

He shrugged. "Here and there. I was in Paris when my uncle dragged me back."

She looked at him from over her shoulder. "The City of Light."

Jack smirked. "Indeed."

She turned back to the bookshelf. "Did you enjoy it?"

She felt his presence right behind her.

"Very much."

She turned on her heels and had to hide her surprise. They were less than a step away from each other. "That's good to hear," she said with a smile.

"I'm starting to see why my uncle likes this publisher so much," he said, and there was a husky tone in his voice.

Elsa licked her lips very discreetly as she kept her eyes locked on his. "We at the Guardians pride ourselves in the deep relation built with our authors," she said with her best sultry voice.

It was his turn to lick his lips. "Is that so?"

"Indeed," she repeated his answer making him chuckle.

"An editor should be the author's closest"—she came minimally closer to him—"confidant. It's the editor's job to bring out the best in the author, to push him to the top." she continued, their bodies so close that they were almost touching. "They work together to accomplish great things"—she stretched her hand and took a strand of hair that had fallen on his blazer.—"And who knows, maybe one day, you and I can work together, Mr. Frost."

She kept analyzing the silvery hair between her fingers like it was the most precious thing in the world.

"Would that include out of business hours meetings and overnight work?" he asked arching one eyebrow.

Her lips moved sensually as she pronounced every word slowly. "Whatever it takes to improve your skills."

He leaned closer trapping her against the bookshelf behind her. "Sounds interesting."

She smiled. "Doors are always open."

"Well..." Her voice returned to her normal tone as she took one step to the side and broke the spell that had surrounded the two of them. "That concludes our tour. If you'll excuse me, I still have plenty of work to do."

Jack winked at her. "Don't let me stand between you and your important work, Miss Arendelle."

"Feel free to explore the office all you want, Mr. Frost."

She left him there with the memory of a last casual smile, and she didn't turn her head to confirm it, but she was pretty sure she could feel his eyes following her every step.

* * *

Metroville. An ordinary city with its usual commercial, trendy, historical and residential areas. It was the home of wealthy, traditional families, and also a location for those who wanted to blend in. Having grown up there with her family, she figured it was the ideal place for her to start over.

Two years ago, she had faced some less fortunate happenings that had left her emotionally scarred. Two years ago, life in the big city had bec0me too much for Anna and she decided to leave.

So she moved back to her parent's empty house to start a fresh and new chapter in her life.

At first, being by herself in a city that no longer felt familiar to her was scary. Not having her loved ones to comfort her was lonely. Care for herself when she had been spoilt her whole life for being the baby was a challenge. And even though her parents had gone as far as taking a vacation' in the old house to be with her, she still needed time to adapt to that new lifestyle.

Her parents, Agnarr and Idunna Arendelle, had bought a small cottage in the middle of nowhere after their daughters had fled the nest in pursuit of their own dreams. Retired and living by themselves, the couple lived simple and peaceful lives but didn't need to think twice before taking the train back to Metroville to support their baby girl.

She would be lost without Mama and Papa those first few days when she didn't even know how to turn the power back on. And Anna appreciated them being there more than she could ever express with words, she really, really did. But the thing was that even their warm presence wasn't enough to fill that void she felt in her heart.

She missed her sister so much that it hurt.

Anna missed how they went grocery shopping together and always ended up with an extra bottle of wine and box of chocolates; how her sister always complained about letting damp towels on the couch; how they fought over who got the last scoop of ice cream; how sometimes, when Elsa was too tired because of work, she fell asleep in the living room and Anna would cover her with a blanket… Anna missed the smell of her sister's special hot coco—the one she only made when she knew Anna was extremely upset; those silly Sundays when Rapunzel would come over and they would spend the day eating cookie dough and trying out face masks; the times when they went window-shopping and Elsa would chastise her about not needing a new dress, but would still pay for the item when Anna was short of cash…

She missed the very small things, and the big, important ones. She missed her best friend, and no longer living with Elsa was the only thing that she regretted in the choice she made when she left.

But Anna was an adult. She couldn't have her sister taking her by the hand all her life. Anna's strong dependency on Elsa had been another reason why she had to leave. She had to learn to stand on her own if she wanted Elsa to be proud of her.

So despite all the bumps and turns down the road, Anna managed her sister's absence over the next two years. She met new people, reconciled with old friends, she started a career for herself and she became generally happy.

A part of her thought that it would not have been possible after what happened, but she had done it. She was broken, she cried, she bled. But she stood up, she fought and she prevailed. She had a future ahead of her, and she knew great things were coming her way. She liked where she was, and who she had become.

One day, she realized with great satisfaction that even with all the pain and hardness, she still loved her life and wouldn't change a goddamn thing in it...

"And if you divide everything by three, you'll get the answer, which is seventeen," Anna said scribing the numbers on the blackboard. She turned to face her class of twelve years old students. "Any questions?"

None of the kids expressed any doubts as they continued copying the lesson on their notebooks. The teacher then went back to her seat so she could wait for the end of the period as her class finished their exercises. She had just finished grading one of her student' homework when the bell rang loudly startling some of the kids.

"Don't forget to do your homework for our next class!" she said over the noise and started to erase the board.

"Goodbye, Miss Arendelle!" a girl and a boy said to her as they passed her.

She turned to wave at the two. "Bye, Margo. Bye, Miguel."

Used to the teacher routine, she started organizing the room, putting chairs back in their places, throwing crumpled up pieces of paper in the trash can, collecting forgotten items and putting them inside one of the drawers on her desk… After returning the classroom to a state of reasonable order, she took her bag and her work supplies and headed straight to the teachers' lounge, her stomach growling with hunger.

Anna put her belongings on an empty table, went to the fridge and retrieved the lunch and apple juice box she had put there in the morning. She sat down and munched on her sandwich as she pulled out her cell phone and started writing a message to her sister.

"Mind if I sit with you?" The melodious voice of a fellow teacher came to her ears.

"Of course not." Anna put her phone back inside her bag and greeted the literature teacher with a smile, "Hi, Tooth."

"So how are classes going?" Tooth asked as she opened the Tupperware that contained her own lunch.

"I think I'm finally getting the hang of it," Anna said after swallowing the food in her mouth. "But maybe I'm wrong, and I'm actually a terrible teacher."

Tooth laughed taking a bite of her salad. "Nonsense. You're doing great, and the kids love you."

Anna felt warmth filling her heart at the nice words of her mentor. She tucked a strand of her strawberry-blonde hair behind her ear shyly. Tooth had taken Anna under her wing back when she was a newbie with a hastily acquired degree and zero experience. It was thanks to Tooth that Anna had become a teacher at Joyce Williams Elementary School, and words were not enough to communicate the gratitude she nurtured for the older woman.

"What about you? How's pregnant life treating you?" Anna asked looking down at Tooth's dress-covered belly and grinning gleefully.

"Some days are better than others," Tooth admitted affectionately rubbing a hand through her middle. "Sometimes, it's like I have a little bunny hopping around inside my uterus for hours."

Anna laughed taking another bite of her sandwich.

"My body is sore in places I haven't felt in years, I'm bloated, I feel nauseous all the time, bladder shrunk to the size of a grape, hormones are all over the place, my clothes don't fit, I can't go anywhere alone because I can't drive..." Tooth complained eagerly. Then, with a gentler tone, she added, "But there something very magical about having the little one growing inside of me. I just have to think about finally holding him in my arms and it's all worth it."

Anna looked at her and felt her eyes swelling with joyful tears. She wiped them off her eyes with a hand and laughed. "I can't believe you'll be gone for a year to become a mom! What am I gonna do without you?!"

Tooth chuckled shaking her head. "You will be fine. Besides, it's not like I'll never drop by to say hello. And you can visit the baby and me any time you want."

"Well, I will take you on that offer," Anna stated. "I love tiny humans."

"And there's also that big special event we are both attending before that, remember?" Tooth said wiggling her eyebrows excitedly.

Anna frowned confused. Had she forgotten another school shenanigan? "What special event?"

"Your wedding, Anna," Tooth clarified with amusement in her voice.

"Oh, right…" Anna facepalmed herself.

"How's that going?"

"I think I'm starting to get cold feet," Anna groaned attacking the rest of her food. "Like, am I gonna be a good wife? What if Kristoff stops washing his feet? Should we get a dog together? What if he doesn't want to have kids? What if he wants to have too many kids?" She kept waving her hands dangerously in the air. "What if no one shows up to my wedding? What if I spill chocolate on my dress and look like a complete idiot?"

"Honey. You're exaggerating." Tooth took Anna's waving hand in both of hers. She looked deep in the younger woman's blue eyes. "I'm gonna teach you a breathing technic my labor coach taught me now," Tooth said calmly. "Do exactly what I'm doing, okay?"

Anna nodded and breathed through her nose slowly as Tooth was showing her, held it for a few seconds, then let it out through the nose slowly. She did it four more times, feeling herself calm down a little with every new gulf of fresh air.

"Better?"

"Yeah." Anna nodded. "Thanks, Tooth."

Tooth smiled as they returned to their forgotten lunches. "Anytime."

"So do you and Kristoff have any plans for the weekend?" Tooth asked. "My husband wanted to show off his cooking skills, but I haven't been much of a dinner company lately, with all the sickness."

"I'm actually going to New Burgess to visit my sister," Anna said apologetically.

"Oh, that sounds like fun," Tooth said dismissing the declination with nonchalance. Then, she frowned at the girl's wording. "Wait. Just you?"

"Yeah. Kristoff can't really leave his food truck. Weekends are his busiest days."

"Well, enjoy your trip nonetheless."

Anna chuckled. "Oh, I will."

* * *

Rapunzel was impatient. She had been feeling uneasy ever since she landed her eyes on that Jack Frost guy. Who did he think he was waltzing in with his stylish hair and perfectly-fitted jeans and sexy smile like he owned the place? If he thought he had a shot with her cousin, he was way mistaken. Over her dead body would she let that idiot Frost touch a single strand of Elsa's precious hair. Whatever the hell happened at Magic Mirror was not going to have a sequel in the Guardians, no, sir.

She had been psychotically staring at her computer screen for what felt like hours unable to get much done, even though she had piles of things to take care of: she had a meeting with one of her authors coming up and she still hadn't read the entire draft yet, the Art team was needing her assistance in the afternoon, she was supposed to help Wasabi write an article for the publisher's website… She didn't have time to be freaking out about some random guy! But she couldn't stop overanalyzing it—she just hated how friendly Elsa had been acting around him, and how even after he had left with his uncle, Elsa refused to talk to her about it, claiming that both of them had too much work on their plates already.

Okay, so maybe Elsa was right. Rapunzel was busy. And by then, the whole office knew Elsa had to deal with that 'Megara situation' from earlier, and that alone would be a huge pain in the ass. But couldn't they spare maybe ten minutes of their busy schedules so Rapunzel could scream at her cousin until her lungs hurt? Was that too much to ask?

"Lunchtime!" Wasabi yelled interrupting her inner struggles. She watched as the guy leaned back on his chair with a tired sigh and stretched his arms over his head.

The day had been rough on all of them, as it seemed. It was just the middle of the day, but it felt like a storm had rushed through the publisher armed with the great forces of Mother Nature and they had been left to take care of the aftermath.

"Finally!" Rapunzel sighed grabbing her wallet. All the fuming was taking up all of her energy. "I'm starving."

"Ready to go, Elsa?" Wasabi asked the blonde beside him.

"Yeah, let me just send this email…" Elsa kept typing rapidly, her eyes glued to her monitor.

"Can we talk about that thing now?" Rapunzel asked glaring daggers at the girl sitting in front of her.

"What thing?" Elsa asked obliviously.

Rapunzel looked at Wasabi giving him a 'is she serious?' look. Wasabi gave her his usual 'she's your cousin, not mine' shrug. Funnily enough, that was a response he used with both Elsa and Rapunzel.

"Oh, I don't know." Rapunzel crossed her arms. "Maybe about that Frost imbecile who was fucking you with his eyes! And you, miss, weren't giving much of resistance in the matter!"

"Rapunzel!" Elsa glared at her in shock.

Okay, so maybe she was a little loud, and maybe some of her co-workers were staring at them and sniggering, and it did make her feel a little embarrassed, but she had a point to make. She felt Wasabi sinking uncomfortably in his chair, but ignored him as well. She narrowed her eyes and continued staring at her cousin.

Elsa sighed pinching the bridge of her nose. "Can we at least wait until we're out of here to talk about it?"

"You're the one that's holding us here, Elsa."

"I'm almost done," Elsa said returning her attention to her computer screen. "There." She turned the screen off and turned to face the other girl. "Done. Happy now?"

"Let's just go have lunch, okay, ladies?" Wasabi placed an appeasing hand on each girl's backs.

"I am not letting this go," Rapunzel stated with a finger pointed at Elsa.

"Of course you're not, you psychotic woman."

As soon as they waved past Mavis and went out of the office's doors, Rapunzel turned to look at Elsa. "Can we talk about it now?"

Elsa sighed. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Why are you so calm about it?" Rapunzel asked.

"Because I had time to accept that it's just another dumb task required by my job." Elsa pressed the elevator's down button. "You know what those are like."

"But it's so not like that!" Rapunzel snapped grabbing the other girl's arm. "Elsa, you're exposing yourself. It could be dangerous."

"What do you think I'm gonna do?" Elsa laughed. "Go with him to a shady hotel in the middle of nowhere where he can ravish me, then cut my body into pieces and throw it in a forest so wild animals can eat my bloodied flesh and my poor rotten corpse will never be found?"

"Ye—" Rapunzel couldn't agree with that idea, because even in her worried state, she knew that that scenario had zero chances of becoming reality. She knew Elsa was responsible and would never put herself in danger's way like that. Elsa was a smart woman. No Jack Frost guy should be a threat to her. "No…"

"Great mental image to stuck in our brains just as we're heading out for lunch, Elsa," Wasabi gagging dramatically. "My appetite is gone."

Elsa rubbed his upper arm soothingly. "Sorry about that."

The elevator's doors opened and they squeezed inside.

"Are you sure you're okay with it, Elsa?" Wasabi asked trying to mask his concerns.

"Yeah." Elsa shrugged. "Besides, I know Pitch made me do it and all, but I decided that I want to do it for me too."

"Really?" Wasabi asked curiously. "Why's that?"

"Riddle me this: why do you think Pitch would go out of his way to get a scandalous, yet admittedly good, author like Frost?"

"To shove it down Grimhilde's throat that her nemesis is making money with the guy that humiliated her?" the guy suggested.

Elsa chuckled. "That too," she admitted. "But I think he's doing it because Frost is North's nephew."

The elevator's doors opened and they quickly blended in the lobby's movement.

"You really think Pitch would go that far for North?" Rapunzel asked with a frown as they headed out to the turnstiles with their IDs in hand.

"North and Pitch are pretty much best friends," Wasabi stated. "Pitch may look like a soulless dictator, but there are things he cares about. The Guardians is one, North is another, and by extension, North's nephew is too."

Rapunzel hummed as she processed his words. The three of them stood in line together. "Okay, so those are Pitch's reasons. That doesn't explain yours, Elsa."

"I'm getting there." She tucked her bangs behind her ear casually. "So I talked to Hades."

Wasabi let out a mocking laugh. He looked at the blonde with arched eyebrows. "Oh, did you now?"

"I won't tell you if you're gonna be like that," Elsa said glaring at him.

"No, no." Wasabi raised his hands apologizing. "Proceed, Elsa."

Elsa rolled her eyes before continuing, "He confirmed the rumor about Frost's contract, and it seems like it happened at least four months ago. Hades also very unnecessarily added a bit about how Grimhilde herself was enamored of Frost, which would be the actual reason for kicking him out."

Wasabi whistled. "Would you look at that?"

"Why is that relevant?" Rapunzel asked with a frown. "Beside the fact that we now know that he's a manwhore."

"It's relevant because Frost said he'd been travelling and that North had to drag him back. What if he's traveling since he lost his publisher? Besides, that guy didn't seem interested at all in his uncle's work, so why would he come here of all places? I think North made him come. I wouldn't even cross dragging him by the ear off the table."

"So North wants his nephew to write for the Guardians?" Wasabi asked.

"I believe so."

"And you wanna help Frost too?" It was Rapunzel's turn to question.

Elsa shrugged. "I just don't want to see a talented author's career being ruined by some wrong choices."

Rapunzel and Wasabi looked at each other surprised.

"You have a good soul, Elsa," Wasabi said rubbing her shoulder.

Elsa laughed. "What's that about?" She turned and gave her cousin an expectant look. "Punz?"

"I'm sorry, Elsa." Rapunzel shook her head. "I understand-I do! It's just…"

"Would it make you feel better if I promised that I will never go out with him? Ever?"

Rapunzel frowned. "Can you promise that?"

"All I have to do is get him to sign a contract," Elsa reasoned. "I'm sure I can figure something without resorting to that…"

As soon as they were out of the building, they heard a series of clicking sounds.

"What the hell is—" Wasabi cut his words short as he looked around and found the source of the noise. A man was taking pictured of them with his camera.

"Eugene," Rapunzel said narrowing her eyes at the guy she so easily recognized, "what are you doing here?"

Eugene put his camera back inside its case as he walked in their direction. "Missed you too, Blondie," he mocked as he kissed her at the top of her head.

"Don't mind her, Eugene," Elsa told him. "She's been a little moody."

"What happened?" He looked worriedly at the girl beside him.

"The publishing world's tangled web of drama," Wasabi said. "I assume you came to have lunch with us, Mr. Fitzherbert?"

"Yeah. I had a shoot nearby and thought I could surprise my favorite girl." He sighed dramatically. "So much for that."

"I'm sorry," Rapunzel mumbled taking his hand. She gave him a weak smile and a quick peck on the lips. "I really appreciate you coming to see me."

"Where are we eating today?" Elsa asked.

"I saw a promising place right now," Eugene told them. "Ever heard of a Snuggly Duckling?"

Wasabi shook his head. "Nope. Should we try it?"

"I'm all for somewhere close to the office," Elsa said.

"What about you, Blondie?" Eugene asked squeezing her hand.

Rapunzel still felt a little disoriented by the rush of emotions, but at the same time, she should be appreciative of her boyfriend's attention. "Anywhere is fine with you."

"Oh my God." Wasabi shook his head hiding his face behind a hand. "I did not sign up for that."

Elsa chuckled linking an arm around his and pulling him ahead. "Let's go."

Eugene leaned closer to Rapunzel and put his mouth over her ear. "So what was that about you being upset?" he whispered.

"I'll tell you later," she replied.

Eugene still seemed concerned about her but decided to do it her way. Instead of pressing her for details, he led the rest of the group to the restaurant he had suggested.

The sign on the door was of a cute yellow duck, but the building itself was rustic and a little threatening. They walked in one by one, and what they found inside was almost enough to make them run out of the place. It was a rickety old construction with a greasy floor that looked like it hadn't been washed in years, the wooden structures creaked whenever there was movement, and there was just a pungent odor of mold coming from everywhere.

"Uh…" Wasabi felt his eyes watering painfully.

"This is cozy..." Elsa commented.

"Yeah, homey," Rapunzel added not to upset her boyfriend.

"Maybe the food is not so bad," Eugene suggested as they walked to an empty table close to one of the walls.

Wasabi looked around and could see a plate of food in one of the nearby tables. He could not identify the dish, but it was an assortment of browns with a goopy consistency. He had to swallow down his vomit.

"That's it!" he said standing up. "I just ate my own vomit. Don't need lunch anymore. Buh-bye!"

Wasabi rushed out of the establishment bumping into the waiter on his way out. He apologized hastily as he left, leaving the other three occupants of the table to exchange uncomfortable glances.

"So do you guys wanna…?" Eugene said scratching his beard.

Elsa stood up nodding. "Let's go."

"Right behind you."

Fresh air and sunlight never felt as good as when they got out of the Snuggly Duckling. They stumbled across Wasabi and the four of them all bunched together in the sidewalk breathing in heavy gulps of air and trying to recover their sense of smell.

"Oh my God!" Rapunzel cried. "What was that smell?"

"I am so sorry, I had no idea that lair of nightmares could exist in the real world," Eugene mumbled pressing a hand to his temples.

"Not your fault, man." Wasabi patted him on the back friendly.

"What are we gonna do now?" Rapunzel asked trying to contain her stomach's growls.

"I'm sure there's a hotdog vendor around here somewhere," Elsa suggested. "Nothing we find can be worse than that." She gestured with her head to the Snuggling Duckling's entrance.

"It's like you read my mind, Elsa. I was really carving hotdogs," Eugene said.

"I'm done with food," Wasabi mumbled wiping the sweat off his forehead. "I'll buy a sparkling water to keep me up the rest of the day.."

"Are you sure?" Elsa asked concerned.

"Yeah." Wasabi laughed humorlessly. "I didn't think I would say this, but working sounds as nice as taking a nap on a warm soft mattress right now."

"You know," Rapunzel said nodding empathically at Wasabi. "I can't wait to go back to the office either."

* * *

Lunch with his uncle was draining. He was a big man, and he had a lot of energy, and he was as easily excitable as a goddamn puppy. So he had spent a good amount of the meal pointing out all of the good things he could think of about the Guardians. He praised the talented young editors his old friend Pitch had hired, a group with such unfaltering work ethic and drive. He talked about how good it was to have an editor who supported you and worked with you throughout the process of delivering a book into the hands of a reader, and how much Jack would have to gain if only he accepted his proposition and signed a contract with his dear publisher.

So before they could even get dessert, Jack lied saying that he had plans and that he was supposed to meet his friends. Which meant he googled Hiccup's name, found the address to their brand new office and headed there straight from the restaurant.

A girl had let him in the building, but he wasn't sure who that was. Before leaving on his journey of self-discovery, there were two girls working with Hiccup and Hiro: the PR girl with loads of attitude and the blonde Hiccup's apprentice with… loads of attitude. Whoever she was, she had asked him to wait for a moment after learning his name, probably while she cleared his entrance with her bosses, and then had unlocked the front door for him.

He casually inspected the building as he got in the elevator and went up to the designated floor. It was a very modern building, with what seemed to be a top-notch security system, white, pristine floor, and walls decorated with what he assumed were nothing more than overpriced art pieces. When the elevator's doors opened, he saw Hiro standing in front of the office's glass doors with his arms crossed and a smug expression on his face.

Jack waved as he made his way to the door and Hiro pressed a button on the security panel.

"Do my eyes deceive me, or is that Jack Frost?" the Asian-American guy asked as Jack pulled the door handle and stepped inside the office.

"Look who's finally hit puberty!" Jack mocked pointing at the other guy. Hiro's face had lost some of its baby fat, his jaw was slightly more defined, and although Jack was pretty sure Hiro hadn't grown an inch, the way he carried himself made him look taller. The kid had changed in the months he was out. "You look like a little man now!" The fact that Hiro was younger was something Jack would never let go of, and would always use to his advantage.

"Hilarious as always, Frost," Hiro greeted as they hugged patting each other's back. "I didn't know you were back."

"It's a recent thing. As in 'I'm still jetlagged' recent," Jack replied nonchalantly as he took a look around the astounding office. He scratched his earlier analysis of the building—the security system was like an ancient typewriter when compared to the shiny toys the boys had there. "Nice place you got here."

Hiro placed his hands on his hips and took a look around the space proudly. "Welcome to the Edge."

"Where's Haddock?" Jack asked as a quick look around for an auburn-haired guy returned negative results.

"Probably dead under a piled up mess of sharp tools," Hiro replied with a shrug.

Jack arched an eyebrow as he looked at Hiro. "Deathtrap Jenga gone wrong?"

"Something like that." Hiro smiled as he headed back to his desk. "Workshop is over there," he said pointing at the door to the said room.

Jack shook his head as he headed to the workshop. He stopped with a hand on the door handle and looked over his shoulder. "Hey, Hiro," he called and waited for Hiro to look in his direction. "Let's drink some other time. Are you old enough to drink already?"

Hiro glared at him. "Get out of my office, Frost."

Jack laughed and opened the door. He spotted two guys sitting on the floor trying to put together what looked very much like an Ikea chair with no cushions for comfort. It was a torture device specifically designed for tailbone pain skillfully disguised as a sad-looking chair skeleton.

Hiccup looked up from his work and a grin immediately formed on his face. "Jack!" He looked back at the other guy. "Guy, can you take it from here?"

Guy nodded. "Yeah."

"I'll be back soon," Hiccup said as he stood up and went to hug his friend. "Hey! You're here!"

"Yeah, thanks for that, by the way," Jack said with a glare.

"What are you talking about?" Hiccup asked confused as they went outside and he led the guest upstairs to the leisure area.

"You fucking snitch. You were the only one who knew where I was."

"You know North scares the shit out of me," Hiccup said sheepishly.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"So what do you think of the office?" Hiccup asked looking at the city through the glass wall.

"Well done, Third," Jack answered patting the auburn-haired guy on the shoulder. "It was about time the rest of the world recognized your abnormally big brains."

Hiccup let out a genuine laugh. "Thanks."

Jack narrowed his eyes as he stared at Hiccup in all seriousness. "You owe me a favor for not keeping your big mouth shut."

Hiccup scratched the back of his head. "Meh. Fair enough. What do you want?"

"A place to crash."

Hiccup frowned. "What happened to your apartment?"

"My lease expired," Jack said nonchalant, "and North is driving me nuts."

Hiccup intently looked at him, as if trying to read his emotions. "Well, you can crash with me, but I don't want to get in the middle of your fight with your uncle."

"We're not fighting." Jack rolled his eyes. With a sigh, he added, "He took me to his publisher today."

"Oh, really?" Hiccup asked curiously. "How did that go?"

"The place is the same as any other stuck-up publishing house,. But I feel like I understand why North likes it so much."

"Why?"

"I think he's banging his editor."

Hiccup gasped and his eyes grew wide at the shocking statement. "What?! Are you serious?"

Jack snorted crossing his arms. "The worst part? She's drop dead gorgeous. And I'm pretty sure she's younger than us."

Hiccup shook his head making small circles with his fingers pressed to his temples. "Okay, now you're shitting with me."

"I wish I was, Third. I wish I was."

"I—I…" Hiccup turned back to look at the city outside. "I'm shocked."

"Aren't we all?" Jack mocked staring at the horizon.

"I don't think they can fire you from sleeping with anyone who works there, then."

"I suppose they can't."

"Does this mean you're going to the same publisher as North for real? You know, with a contract and all?"

"I don't know about that," Jack mumbled bitterly. He turned on his heels and leaned his back against the glass.

"Don't you want to keep writing?"

"I don't need a publisher to write."

Hiccup shrugged. "Yeah, but you probably need one to sell books and earn money," he stated, and his comment hit the nail right on its head.

Jack slid down until he was sitting with his head against the glass wall. He kept staring at the far opposite side of the office with a blank expression.

Hiccup sighed sitting down as well. "Look,"—he put a hand on his friend's shoulder—"you're welcome to stay with me for as long as you want. We'll have to clean my old workshop, though. And you'll have to get along with Toothless."

Jack gave him his best smirk. "I can work with that."

"And Astrid," Hiccup added, and Jack flinched.

"… I make no promises."

* * *

It was a mystery how Gobber, a man of questionable table manners, sharp tongue and unusual hygiene habits was able to manage a relatively successful food business. With a modern touch to the traditional Viking cuisine, his restaurant was a one of a kind establishment that every person should visit at least once in their lifetime. A very renowned food critic had once stated that The Forge was like a fresh ocean breeze in the middle of that suffocating concrete jungle they were trapped in with its rustic flavors and curious dishes.

Astrid Hofferson was almost reaching the one year mark as the restaurant's new chef. The Forge wasn't her ideal kitchen—far from it—, but after her last workplace had suddenly bankrupted, she was just glad to get another job within the food industry.

Admittedly, she had had her struggles down the path to becoming a chef. She knew nothing about Viking cuisine; she had never been in charge before; she didn't have much experience dealing with picky customers, nor dealing with so many staff members. But she was young and she learned fast. Astrid was passionate, worked hard, and turned out to be a born leader earning her boss' trust and her co-workers' respect.

The kitchen staff was, in fact, leisurely preparing for dinner service at that exact moment. They were all either taking care of their own stations or doing ordinary tasks around the kitchen.

"Behold my latest Tuffnut Thorston—pastry chef extraordinaire—creation!" Tuffnut had a hand in the air and the other holding a plate of what looked like a papier mâché volcano gone very wrong.

Snotlout put his meat knife down and wiped his hands on a towel as he approached the other guy. "What exactly is that?" he asked with narrowed eyes.

"This," Tuffnut said solemnly, "my Snotty and Louty friend, is the greatest, the tastiest, the most incredible dessert ever imagined. And never imagined too."

"It looks like yak vomit," Ruffnut, his twin, said poking the food with a spoon.

Tuffnut pushed his sister's head forcefully and gave Snotlout an expectant look. "Would you like to be my taste tester?"

"Do I look like I have a death wish?" Snotlout asked crossing his arms, then waved his hand in Tuffnut's direction. "Give me a spoon."

Tuffnut offered him the cutlery item and Snotlout quickly took it from the other's hand. He scooped some of the dessert and left the spoon hanging in the air, hesitating to bring the spoon closer to his mouth.

"Are you sure about that?" Fishlegs asked apprehensively.

"I'm a Jorgenson," Snotlout said. "Jorgensons know no fear."

"Jorgensons apparently have a very limited vocabulary," Fishlegs mumbled to himself.

Not having heard the other guy, Snotlout shoved the spoon inside his mouth in one go.

The rest of the team watched, half expecting Snotlout to drop dead at any moment. To everybody's relief, he just froze. His eyes widened and the hand holding the spoon just stood there. He wasn't dead but didn't seem much responsive either.

"Snotlout, are you okay?" Astrid asked getting closer to the rest of the staff.

"I think he's in shock," Ruffnut said waving her hand in front of the paralyzed guy.

Heather picked a clean spoon and poked Tuffnut's dish. "Okay, Tuff. What exactly did you put in that… thing?"

"A chef never reveals his secrets, Heather."

"Don't worry, I got this." Dagur pushed them aside and pulled his shirt's sleeves up to his elbows. He took Snotlout by the shoulders and looked at him deep in the eyes. "Hey! Snothead! Snap out of it!"

Dagur raised his hand and slapped Snotlout squarely in the right cheek. The hit echoed making the others flinch and Snotlout cry. He lost his balance and had to grab the counter not to smack his face on the floor.

Snotlout glared at Dagur. "Hey! What is the problem with you?"

"And with that, my job here is done," Dagur said as he left the kitchen and went to the dining room.

"Snotlout," Fishlegs called the other guy putting a hand on his shoulder, "what happened?"

Snotlout pointed at the plate in Tuffnut's hand. "That thing, it's… it's…"

"Revolting?" Astrid suggested.

"Disgusting?" Heather added.

"A one-way ticket to Valhalla?" Ruffnut asked earning her a whack on the head from her brother.

"AMAZING!" Snotlout shouted.

The others stared at him as if he had just grown a second head right in front of them.

"It's rich," Snotlout continued making wide gestures with his hands, "it's sweet, with a little bit of bitterness from the chocolate… and did you put chili powder in it?"

Tuffnut smiled at him smugly. "A little bit, maybe."

"Can I have another bite?" Snotlout's eyes were shining like those of a small child.

"Suit yourself." Tuffnut pushed the dish in his coworker's direction. "What about the rest of you?"

"Oh, well." Fishlegs closed his eyes before slowly putting a spoonful of Tuff's new concoction inside his mouth.

"Bottoms up," Ruff mumbled with a shrug. Then, she seemed to have the same gustatory experience as Snotlout. "Wow."

"Not as bad as it looks," Heather commented licking her spoon.

"I know, right?" Snotlout said going for another bite.

Astrid cleaned her spoon and threw it in the sink. "I must admit, Tuff. You're on the right path with this." She stared at his dish for a moment before adding, "Just figure a way to make it look like actual food, and who knows, maybe we can add it to the menu."

"I shall work on that." Tuffnut jumped up and ran back to his station leaving the rest of the staff members gorging themselves on his masterpiece.

Astrid went to the fridge and took a jug of water out of it. As she turned around, she saw Heather walking in her direction with two clean glasses.

"So it's been almost a year since we started living together," she commented holding out the glasses.

"That long?" Astrid asked pouring the water. "I've been working here in The Forge for a year already?"

"Time flies." Heather took a sip of her beverage. "We should celebrate."

"If you say so."

"I do. How about today?"

Astrid snorted staring at the other woman. "Are you kidding me? We have work tomorrow."

"Just a couple of beers. You and me. Maybe Fish. Super chill stuff."

"Can't." Astrid let out a heavy sigh. "I have to help my boyfriend's stupid roommate move in."

"You're such a bummer," Heather said with a pout.

"Hey, ask Fishlegs if you wanna go out so much," Astrid challenged with a raised eyebrow.

Heather gave her a nonchalant shrug. "Maybe I will."

"Just make sure you have your keys. Roommate letting you in because you were locked up outside? Huge cockblocker," Astrid mocked.

"That's not funny," Heather said glaring at the blonde girl in front of her. "And I only forgot my keys twice."

"That's a lie and you know it," Astrid stated. Then, she pointed at the doors. "Oh, look, he's leaving. Now's your chance."

"Astrid—"

"Hey, Fish!" she shouted at the same time as she pushed Heather in the guy's direction.

Heather stumbled a few steps and glared at Astrid from over her shoulder.

"Heather?" Fishlegs called her curiously.

"Hi…" Heather tucked a strand of her ebony hair behind her ear. "Are you going back to your desk?"

Fishlegs nodded. "Duty calls."

"Let me walk with you, well, until the dining room at least," Heather said and headed out through the kitchen's doors not giving him time to protest.

Fishlegs shrugged and went after her. "Okay…"

Astrid watched their exchange with a smug, satisfied expression on her face. She took another sip of water pleased with her cunningness…

"I see what you did there."

… And almost choked at the voice coming right from behind her.

Astrid coughed leaning forward to hold the wall. She felt her eyes watering up as she glared at the blonde guy watching her.

"Holy shit, Tuff!" she snapped. "You don't sneak up on people like that, dumbass."

"I just needed some mayo," he said going to the fridge and looking through its contents for the condiment.

Astrid frowned. Tuffnut did desserts. He was in charge of sweet stuff. What would he possibly need mayo for? Then, she remembered: he was Tuff. Weirder things had been found in the middle of his dishes before. And she shrugged. "I don't even care."

"That's an intriguing combination of flavors you got there," Tuff commented casually as he closed the fridge door with a jar of mayo in hand.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You're trying to push a Mister Fishlegs and a Miss Heather together."

A shadow darkened Astrid's eyes as the most devious grin formed on her face as a memory came to her mind.

"It's called payback, bitch."

* * *

Hiccup's apartment hadn't always been a fancy place. It was a wreck when he first got it-a mess of peeling paintjob, moldy wood, and pet bottle furniture, but over the years, the auburn-haired guy had it into an apartment worthy of decoration magazines.

All the furniture was black with stainless steel details. There was a sexy bar separating the kitchen area from the living room. The kitchen was minimalist with not much paraphernalia visible beside a coffee maker and some dirty dishes. In the living room, a gorgeous 75-inches 4K TV that Hiccup never used because he was always busy with work stood forgotten. A tall window with heavy curtains that were seldom closed because Hiccup very much enjoyed the view of tiny cars down on the streets allowed the outside light to enter the apartment. There was a master bedroom, one bathroom for guests and the old spare room Hiccup had turned into a makeshift working space, then turned into a storage room, and now turned into Jack's temporary lair.

Hiccup also had a German Sheppard, aka Hiccup's best friend, aka Toothless, or as Jack used to call him back iwhen they were still tiptoeing around each other, Helldog.

"Hiya buddy!" Jack kneeled as Toothless came running to greet him and jumped on his back legs stretching to lick the silver-haired guy's face. "I missed you too."

Hiccup laughed from the corner of the room as he watched the scene. "Wow. French kissing. I see the separation has affected both of you."

"Well, you should know by now that Toothless has always liked me better," Jack said with a smirk.

Hiccup shook his head walking to the old spare room. "Are we cleaning your room or what?"

Jack stood up and followed his friend. "Right behind you."

Hiccup's storage room was complete chaos. There were heavy books piled up, a dusty leather massage chair that probably had never been used was in one corner, at least twenty black garbage bags and thirty cardboard boxes filled with unknown content were thrown around the room, dangerous-looking tools hung on the wall, and a ladder stood half-buried in the middle of the room.

It was hard to believe that he had been living in that apartment for less than five years, considering the amount of junk he had collected.

"Jesus fucking Christ, Third," Jack hissed under his breath.

"Yeah, I'm a little bit of a hoarder," Hiccup admitted sheepishly.

"A little bit?"

"I'm pretty sure there was a couch in here…" the auburn-haired guy mumbled as he stepped inside the room.

Jack sighed. Even in the current state, his new room was still better than spending another night under his uncle's roof. So he should get to work if he wanted a place to lie down that night.

And he did. He worked his ass off emptying cardboard boxes and sorting out things that Hiccup still needed and things that he still needed, but Jack convinced him to throw away anyway. They had cleared a good area of the room already, at least one-third of it. They had found the couch—which was actually a sofa bed, and all the old books from when Hiccup still worked at Robinson Industries had been put aside for donating.

"Check this out!" Hiccup shouted at some point.

Jack stopped what he was doing and looked back at his friend. Hiccup was sitting on the floor with what looked like a leather notebook in hands.

"What?"

"It's my old inventions sketchbook!" Hiccup shook the item excitedly. "I had totally forgotten this!"

"Which means it goes in the garbage, Hiccup," Jack told him shoving the garbage bag in his direction.

"No way!" Hiccup held the notebook closer to himself. "You gave me this!"

"I did?" Jack asked confused.

"You did. Before we headed off to college. On my birthday. You said I should put my ideas on paper so I wouldn't forget."

Jack frowned. He did have some recollection of such memory. In his defense, college years were a hazy mess, and he couldn't remember much of anything that had happened in that period of his life..

"Hm. Sounds familiar." Jack nodded. "That was actually something North taught me when I first moved in with him," he said as he sat down next to Hiccup. "He gave me a journal and told me to write something."

"Do you still have that journal?" Hiccup asked excitedly.

Jack scorned. "Of course not. I threw that shit away as soon as it was out of pages."

"Bu-why?" Hiccup cried. "That was your starting point as a writer!"

"Sometimes you're too emotional for your own good, Third," Jack mumbled shaking his head. He gestured with his head to the notebook. "So what you got there?"

"Eh." Hiccup shrugged flipping through the pages. "I was a pretty weird kid."

"You still are a pretty weird kid."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "You remember this? I actually built this!"

Jack looked down at the drawing his friend was pointing at. He easily recognized the invention, despite Hiccup's messy notes covering most of the page. "The fireworks shooter?" he asked.

Hiccup nodded.

"Yeah, our room smelled like smoke for weeks," Jack said.

Hiccup frowned. "Okay, I didn't remember that… But it did shoot fireworks when it was done."

Jack laughed. "It was the height of Johnny's party. What else did you draw?"

Hiccup flipped through the pages again reading his old notes and trying to find the best ideas. The next hour was spent with them reminisced their dumb young days. They laughed and talked until their throats went dry, and by the time Hiccup had returned to the room with a couple of cold beers, Jack had scavenged their old yearbook, and another hour soon went by.

They were so engrossed in their nostalgia that they didn't hear the front door opening, nor notice Toothless rushing out of the room to greet the newcomer.

"I thought you two were supposed to be cleaning up," Astrid Hofferson said startling the other two guys.

Hiccup immediately stood up to greet his girlfriend. "Hey, babe!" he said kissing her cheek.

Unphazed by his affection, she asked, "What were you doing sitting on the floor?"

"We were just going through some stuff we found…" Hiccup mumbled scratching the back of his head.

"Sup, Hofferson." Jack saluted her with a wave of his beer bottle.

She acknowledged him with a nod of her head and a dry, "Frost."

"I think we should get back to work," Hiccup suggested.

"You do that," Astrid agreed.

Under Astrid's stern supervision, they ended cleaning the rest of the room surprisingly fast. All the trash was thrown and all the memorabilia Hiccup managed to salvage was hid in his own room. Useful things were put in their rightful places, and all there was left to do was to bring Jack's possessions in.

"Is this really all?" Hiccup asked as they carried Jack's two bags and one suitcase into the room.

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure whatever was in my apartment is decomposing in a dumping ground after my landlord's decision to evict me. And the things I don't really use that I managed to not destroy will stay at North's place."

"I guess that's it, then," Astrid said as she dropped one of the bags on the floor.

"I'm exhausted," Hiccup sighed sitting on the couch.

"Same." Jack sat next to his friend leaning his head against the backrest and closing his eyes. As an incredible idea came to him, he looked up at Astrid with his best smile on his face. "Hey, Astrid. Almost five months is a really long time to go without tasting your amazing food."

Astrid crossed her arms. "Is that your way of asking me to cook for you?"

"Did it work?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm going home," she said leaving the room. "Maybe another day."

"Can you at least order us some pizza then?"

"You're pretty capable of order it yourself!" Astrid shouted from the other room making Jack whine in defeat.

Hiccup laughed patting Jack on the knee.

"Come on, I think Tony's is still open."

Jack moaned. He could smell the tomato sauce and soft cheese melting in his tongue. His mouth started salivating. "Is their pizza still as good as I remember?"

"Oh, buddy. It's even better."


	2. Chapter 2

Rapunzel stirred her cereal with a spoon and watched as the swirl of milk and cornflakes dissolved. She was tired, and she'd give anything to call in sick and stay home, but that would only worry her friends, and she didn't want to add more problems to their load of 'bullshit to deal with today'. So she begrudgingly shoved a few more spoons of cereal into her mouth and chewed her soggy breakfast.

Then, she heard that so familiar clicking sound coming from the kitchen doorway. She looked in that direction and saw her boyfriend with his camera glued to his face.

"What are you doing, Eugene?" she asked with a sigh. For most of the time, she had gotten used to his photography nerd side, but she was still rather shy to be the subject of his photos, especially in situations with zero glamour, like that one—her eating cereal on her kitchen counter staring at nothing with dark circles under her eyes from working overnight.

"The lightning was so perfect that I had to take a picture of you," he explained as he checked the photo he had just taken. Satisfied with the result, he put the camera down and walked towards her. "Morning," he mumbled before giving her a quick peck on the lips.

"Good morning," she replied with a smile.

"You came home late last night," he commented as he inspected the interior of her fridge. "Are you okay now?"

Rapunzel shrugged. "I think sleeping on it helped."

He closed the fridge's door and took a bite from the apple he had procured. "Wanna talk about it?"

"I don't know. Some work drama, I guess," she said stirring her cereal rather eagerly. "It's just…" she continued before he could say anything, "that stupid model wannabe thinking that any girl would be more than happy to jump right into his bed."

"Is someone hitting on you?" Eugene asked clenching his fist. "If so, I will have to have a little talk with them."

"Not me, you dumb-dumb." Rapunzel rolled her eyes with contempt. She lifted her spoon and used it to emphasize her words. "He's after Elsa."

Eugene frowned, but his expression relaxed a little. "Huh."

"And my workaholic boss and workaholic cousin are plotting together like it's the most common thing in the world…" she kept grumbling. "And I know for sure that it's going to end badly. But does anyone listen to me?!" Rapunzel threw her spoon inside the bowl spilling milk everywhere.

"Great!" she mumbled taking a napkin to wipe the milk from her blouse. "Now I need to change. Get dressed before breakfast will save you time, Rapunzel," she continued talking to herself. "Yeah, sure it will."

Rapunzel marched back to her bedroom and Eugene followed her still chewing on his fruit. "I'm not sure I got everything, but aren't you always saying to have faith in people show them your support?" he asked leaning against the doorframe with his arms folded.

"Sure, throw my own words at me." She turned to stare at him. She arched one eyebrow. "Aren't you going to get dressed?"

"I am dressed!" he protested looking down at his tank top and track shorts. "I'm going to the gym."

"That so?" Rapunzel finished buttoning her new shirt and ran her fingers through her long hair. "Make sure to lock the door before you leave."

"Yes, ma'am." Eugene saluted as she walked past him.

"Are you going to Elsa's on Saturday?" Rapunzel asked as she walked around the apartment gathering the things she needed for the day.

"What was that again?" he asked rubbing his jaw.

"Elsa's new roommate is moving in!" she exclaimed. "How come you forgot?"

"Oh, right." Eugene slapped his forehead. "That. I forgot it was this week…" He paused for a moment remembering his work schedule. "Sorry, but I have an early shoot that day. I'm not sure if I can make it."

"It's alright, Anna is coming anyway," Rapunzel said as they walked together to the front door. "I think we can manage on our own."

"I'll see what I can do," he said feeling guilty.

She gave him an appreciative smile. "Thanks."

Eugene nodded. "Good luck at work with your authors and your cousin."

Rapunzel unlocked the door and turned to look at him. "You too, with your… working out."

"Why does it feel like you're mocking me?" he asked with a pout.

Rapunzel smiled opening the door. "Probably because I am." She leaned on her tiptoes to kiss him. "Bye, Eugene."

"See ya, Blondie."

* * *

He had just poured a fresh pile of dog food inside Toothless' bowl when he heard the doorbell ringing. Hiccup frowned. He hadn't heard anything about a visitor from the building doorman, and it was still kinda early for one of his neighbors to be knocking on his door.

But before he could reach it, the door opened on its own and his beautiful girlfriend stormed inside. She was panting heavily, droplets of sweat forming on her forehead as if she had climbed the stairs instead of taking the elevator.

"Hi, Hiccup," she said quickly walking past him and looking around the apartment. Toothless ran to greet her and she happily rubbed behind his ears.

"Morning, you," he greeted surprised. "Why did you ring the doorbell?" he asked watching her move from one side of the room to the other rummaging through magazines and looking under pillows.

"Key was inside my bag, but you were so slow that I found it before you answered the door."

Hiccup smiled. "Sorry about that, I was seeing to my dog's canine needs." He watched as she moved from the living room to his bedroom. "What are you looking for now?" he asked amused as he went to the kitchen.

"I think I forgot my gym ID in here," she explained, and he could hear her fighting the bedclothes.

"Hm… don't remember seeing it," he mused rubbing his chin. He started pouring himself a mug of coffee. "Maybe it's in the laundry," he said loud enough for her to hear.

There was a pause in the sounds coming from his bedroom, and he figured Astrid was pondering the option. Then, he heard a finger snap and Astrid exclaiming, "Laundry."

She went to the laundry area and was looking inside the pockets of a pair of jeans when Hiccup caught up with her.

"Aha!" Astrid triumphantly held the missing ID in one of her hands.

"Good job," Hiccup complimented with a fond smile. "Can I offer you some coffee as a reward?" he asked gesturing with his own mug.

"Nah, I'm going to the gym," Astrid said as they walked back to the kitchen. "What about Frost?"

"He was in the shower just now," Hiccup said sitting down on a stool and going through the news on his tablet.

Astrid went to the sink and filled a glass of water. "I'm surprised he's already out of bed."

Hiccup smiled proudly. "Yeah, I thought I'd have to throw a bucket of ice water on him to wake him up..."

Astrid rolled her eyes. "So you're babysitting him today?" she asked.

Hiccup shrugged. "Basically," he replied. "Gotta make sure Jack knows his way around the neighborhood, make him a key copy, buy some groceries… And then maybe I can go to the office to get some actual work done."

"That guy better appreciate how much you're doing for him," Astrid said shaking her head.

Hiccup shrugged. "We've been friends for ages and I'm sure he would've done the same for me."

They both heard the sound of a door opening and turned to the corridor expecting to greet their silver-haired friend but saw a breathtaking tall brunette with long flowy hair walking out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around herself.

Astrid narrowed her eyes and glared suspiciously at Hiccup.

"Uh…" Hiccup felt his neck heating up. "Th-this is not what it looks like."

"Really?" Astrid leaned over the counter and got her face closer to him. "Because it looks like Frost it taking full advantage of his new soundproof room by bringing beautiful women to your apartment."

Hiccup ran a hand through his hair relieved. "Then it's exactly what it looks like!"

Astrid laughed turning on her heels. "Relax Hiccup. I know you would never cheat on me. You don't have a single bad bone in yourself."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Hiccup mumbled hiding his mouth behind his mug. "I'm gonna have a little talk with my roommate later."

"I take it that you didn't know about his late-night activities?"

Hiccup groaned rubbing a hand over his eyes. "I didn't even know when he went out, let alone brought a random girl here."

As if she had heard them talking about her, said girl walked out of Jack's room at that exact moment wearing high heels and a tight one-shoulder dress. Her waist was so thin that she should probably be some kind of model.

"I'm going to the gym," Astrid said putting her half-empty glass in the sink and grabbing her gym bag from the floor. The blonde threw the unknown woman a threatening, possessive glare as they passed each other, and despite the height difference between the two, the message was received loud and clear. "Have fun dealing with her," she added as she took a glimpse of Hiccup's flustered beet-red face.

Hiccup continued staring at his mug until his girlfriend was out of the apartment and he could hear the door closing behind her. "Hi…" he said to the strange brunette with what he hoped was a polite smile. "Would you like some coffee?"

* * *

Elsa took the elevator to the publisher's floor and took that little time to go through her morning schedule. She didn't have any meetings with her authors that day, so she should have time to work on some pending paperwork during the morning. As the elevator's doors opened, she walked out and headed to the front desk.

"Morning, Mavis," she greeted the receptionist.

"Good morning, Elsa," the black-haired girl greeted back. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"These are some new drafts that were sent this week," Mavis said putting a pile of packages on the counter. "Normally I would have Terence deliver them, but he's not coming today."

"I can just drop them with the manuscripts team, right?" The blonde asked reading the label on one of the packages.

Mavis nodded. "I wouldn't bother you with this, but Mr. Pitch has a meeting with Mr. Ego right now, and I was supposed to buy them tea…"

"I'll take care of these," Elsa said taking the packages in her arms. "And you'll go get that tea."

Mavis let out a relieved sigh. "Thanks, Elsa. You're a lifesaver."

Elsa smiled. "Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you."

Mavis thanked her again as Elsa walked inside the office with the drafts carefully secured in her arms. She moved through the corridors of bookshelves and headed straight to a fellow editor's desk. She took a moment observing the mountain of materials her co-worker had spread over it. "Hey, Belle…"

The young woman looked up from the manuscript she had been reading and smiled at the newcomer. "Bonjour, Elsa."

"Mavis sent these to you," Elsa said gesturing with the pile she had in her hands.

"Oh." Belle nodded and immediately tried to open some space in her chaotically organized desk for the new pile of drafts. She gestured for Elsa to put her pile in one corner of the desk.

"Found anything good lately?" Elsa asked as she flipped through the first pages of a discarded manuscript.

"Hmm…" Belle mused already sorting through the new items. "I think there are one or two promising authors that you would enjoy meeting. Maybe not you specifically, but one of you guys…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Elsa asked with a confused frown.

Belle immediately covered her mouth with a hand. "Oh, Elsa. I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything bad. It's just that we all know you've been busy lately, so you probably wouldn't be assigned any new writers."

"Oh, that…" Elsa nodded with comprehension. Belle was right—she probably wouldn't be in charge of any new writers for a while, especially if her plans worked and she did manage to bring one certain author to the publisher…

"Rumor has it that you'll start working with that guy that was here yesterday? The boy that was with North?" Belle asked with an arched eyebrow.

Elsa laughed. Of course, people in the office would have already started gossiping. An unknown handsome man walks in and acts rather friendly with their fellow-coworker. She could only guess how far the stories had already gone. "Pitch wanted that to happen, but there's nothing decided yet."

Belle nodded. "Well, good luck with that."

"Thanks." Elsa sighed stretching her arms. "I should stop disturbing your work."

"Nonsense. I always enjoy our chats.," Belle said with a wave of her hand. She and Elsa had been friends for a couple of years now. They had worked together reading manuscripts until Elsa was moved to other tasks. They maintained their friendship though, seeing that they still worked in the same place, just in different teams. "By the way"—Belle started rummaging through the files on her desk—"if you'd like some light reading, this is a fun piece," she said picking a manuscript and handing it to the blonde girl.

"Can I take it?" Elsa asked.

"Sure, give me your opinion about it later," Belle answered.

"Will do." Elsa nodded. "I'll see you around, Belle."

"Thank you for dropping by."

Elsa bid the other girl farewell and headed to her own desk. As she approached, she saw that her two teammates were already seated on their own desks. By the time she got to her seat, she noticed that instead of working, Wasabi and Rapunzel were actually talking to each other.

"Come on, Wasabi, don't be so negative," Rapunzel said.

Wasabi groaned with his face buried in his hands. "I'm being realistic. There's a huge difference."

"What's going on?" Elsa asked pulling her chair and sitting down.

"Morning, Elsa," Wasabi grumbled.

"Hey," Rapunzel greeted waving a pencil between her fingers. "You're kinda late today."

"I was with Belle," Elsa said pressing her computer's power button on.

Wasabi huffed crossing his arms and staring at his monitor screen. "Don't mention about that traitor's name in front of me…"

Elsa arched an eyebrow at him. "What is wrong with you today?"

"It's all that girl's fault! If she hadn't read his manuscript, I would've never been nominated as his editor and I'd still be a happy man!"

Elsa turned to look at her cousin for an explanation, to what Rapunzel just rolled her eyes. "Wasabi has a meeting with Freddie today," her cousin said.

"Oh…" Elsa nodded and waited for the other girl to continue, but she didn't. Looking at the guy, she added, "…That's it?"

Wasabi laughed humorlessly. "Yeah, that's it. Fredrick Fredrickson IV has the most troublesome, confusing and disturbing writing of all the authors I have on my list right now, and I have a meeting to discuss his latest chapters today. But that's just it. No big deal at all."

Elsa laughed and stretched an arm to rub Wasabi's upper arm comfortingly. "Come on, Wasabi. You can't expect to be a good editor without having to deal with one or two… unique authors."

Rapunzel nodded. "Besides, Freddie is a great writer, and you guys work well together."

Wasabi glared at her from over his computer. "I don't feel the tiniest bit flattered by your comment," he said deadpan.

Rapunzel shrugged. "What time are you meeting him again?" she asked.

"We scheduled the meeting for eight o'clock."

"So what are you complaining about?" Elsa asked with a frown. "It's almost eight, you'll be over with it soon enough. And then you'll be free for the rest of the day."

"One would think that way, wouldn't they, thee innocent child?" Wasabi mumbled. "But you know how many hours he was late last time? Six hours and thirty-seven minutes!"

Elsa's eyes grew wide with surprise at that little piece of information. Even when working with her self-centered authors, she had never experienced such situation herself. She turned to give Wasabi a sympathetic smile. "What time do you actually expect to meet Freddie then?" she asked.

"If I keep reminding him of the meeting throughout the morning…" Wasabi sighed. "Around two."

"What are you doing until then?" Rapunzel asked.

"With some luck, I think I can finish working out the details of Helen's book…"

"You can do it, Wasabi," Rapunzel encouraged him with a thumbs-up.

"Yeah, yeah…" Wasabi mumbled as he began typing on the keyboard. "I just hope he didn't turn off his phone again…"

* * *

As promised, after leaving Rapunzel's apartment, Eugene headed straight to the Te Fiti Gym for his usual exercises. After shoving his bag in one of the lockers, he spotted some familiar faces and headed to the treadmills. Merida and Astrid, his usual working-out buddies were running side by side.

"Good morning, ladies," he greeted the redhead and the blonde. He picked the machine beside the former and placed his water bottle in its holder.

"Morning, Flynn," Merida, the ginger-haired girl, greeted back.

"You're late," Astrid added.

"Yeah, I was at my girlfriend's," Eugene said as he started stretching.

"That girl didn't dump you yet, eh?" Merida mocked.

"Fuck off, Red." Eugene glowered at her. "Just because you're a sourpuss, you expect the rest of the world to be the same. Tell me, girl, have you ever been in love in your life?"

Merida shook her head. "Nope. Love is for the weak."

Astrid laughed.

"What are you laughing at, Hofferson?" Eugene asked adjusting the settings on his running machine. "Weren't you dating some rich kid just a while ago?"

"What if I were? And my life is none of your business, dumbass.," the blonde declared.

"Sorry I asked," Eugene mumbled as he started jogging. "As for you, Merida, I say it's only a matter of time until you find the person who'll sweep you off your feet."

Merida let out a snort of contempt. "When pigs fly."

They heard clapping and a thunderous voice saying, "Working hard, I see!"

"Maui," Merida acknowledged their trainer, a large, tattooed man with a thick neck and long curly black hair.

"Flynn, you're not at the same speed as those two," Maui said inspecting Eugene's machine. "You gotta keep up, man."

"I just got here," Eugene explained.

"Excuses," Astrid fake-sneezed.

Eugene scoffed and threw some water inside his mouth. "Give me a break, you gym freak."

"Watch your posture, Astrid," Maui reminded the blonde girl as he walked around the three inspecting their running. Astrid groaned as she straightened up her slightly hunched back and Maui nodded pleased. "Atta girl."

As Eugene watched Maui, something inside his brain clicked and he remembered something. "So your cousin is finally moving to New Burgess, huh, Maui?"

"Yeah." Maui snorted as he wrote down something on his clipboard. "Little brat has been pestering me for days about what she should pack for the moving."

"Are you actually gonna let us meet your big singing-revelation precious little cousin, or are you gonna keep hiding her from us?" Merida asked with an arched eyebrow.

"I told you to come by when she was around, you guys are the one who declined the invitation," Maui protested.

Eugene glared at him. "You texted us 'yo, my famous cousin is here at my place, come if you wanna see her 'cause she's leaving in the morning', you fucking dick."

"So?"

"We had other plans!" Eugene shouted.

Maui shrugged. "You people made your choices."

"I was at work," Astrid defended herself.

"Same," Eugene added offended.

Maui turned to stare at Merida, who hadn't worded her complaints yet. "What about you?"

The redhead shrugged. "I was just too lazy to get dressed and hop on the subway."

Eugene stared at her as if she was an alien, and he had just noticed that. "Okay, Merida doesn't count."

"I like you too, handsome," Merida said with a roll of eyes.

Eugene sighed. "So my girlfriend asked if I'll help them out with the moving… I'm assuming you'll be there," he said the last part looking at Maui.

"I have to, she's family," the other guy grumbled.

"What about you ladies?" Eugene asked the girls beside him. "It could be a nice bonding opportunity."

"When?" Merida asked.

"Saturday morning," Maui told them.

"Can't," Astrid said. "I'm working."

"You're always working," Merida scoffed.

"Yeah, you never hang out with us," Maui added.

Astrid laughed throwing her head back. "That's because you're idiots who constantly indulge in testosterone competitions."

"So Hofferson is a no, what about you, DunBroch?" Maui asked taking no offense in Astrid's accusation.

"I'll see what I can do…" Merida mumbled..

"That's also a no," Astrid concluded.

Maui nodded. "Figured."

"That wasn't a no," Merida protested defensively.

"It just depends on your mood," Eugene explained.

Merida pointed at him in agreement. "Exactly."

"Which with eighty percent certainty means a no," Maui said.

"I'd say it's more like a ninety-eight," Astrid wondered.

Eugene leaned over his running machine to look at Astrid. "You're being nice with that two percent margin."

Merida groaned throwing her hands in the air. "You guys can all go and die for what I care. Just you wait." She glared from one friend to the other. "I'll be there eleven a.m. sharp."

"We're meeting at nine," Maui reminded her.

"… Nine a.m. sharp," Merida corrected herself gritting her teeth.

"I bet a round of beers that you're not gonna be there," Eugene said looking at Merida with an eyebrow raised.

The redhead narrowed her eyes. "Make it two rounds and you have yourself a deal."

"Two it is."

Merida turned off the treadmill and grabbed her bottle taking a few chugs. She let out a satisfied sigh. "I can already taste the victory."

"You're probably mistaking it with that disgusting protein shake you're drinking."

"Fuck you, Fitzherbert." Merida glared at him as she jumped off the running machine.

"Where are you going?" Maui asked with suspicion.

"I'm hitting the shower."

"Are you really done with your set?" Eugene asked as they all stared at the redhead distancing herself.

"Yep."

"Come on, Red," Astrid tried to call her back. "Don't be like that."

"See you on Saturday!" Merida said as she waved back at them.

Not much long after Merida had disappeared through the locker room door, Astrid's time went off. "That bitch really ran the whole thing," the blonde muttered turning her treadmill off. "I'm off too," she said grabbing her things.

Eugene waved at her. "Later, girl."

"See you tomorrow, Astrid," Maui told her, then he turned to look at the other guy. "Just you and me now, handsome."

Eugene gulped hard and looked around the room avoiding the trainer's glare.

"Don't think I forgot, Flynn. You skipped arms this week."

* * *

After acting like a host and entertaining the unexpected guest he found inside his apartment that morning, Hiccup had pushed his new roommate out of bed—couch in this case—and dragged him around the neighborhood to run some errands.

As to be expected of an adult with the mentality of a five years old, he had successfully fooled Jack with the promise of a double scoop ice cream cone. The two men were, in fact, eating their desserts—Hiccup not resisting and having a cone of his own—while they waited for the key maker to make a copy of their apartment's key.

"So Pocahontas seemed like a nice girl," Hiccup commented absentmindedly as a conversation starter.

"Kind of a savage, though," Jack replied adjusting the sunglasses over the bridge of his nose. "Not that I'm complaining."

Hiccup pressed a hand to his eyes. "Do I even want to know?"

Jack gave him a smirk Hiccup was very familiar with. "To spare your innocent ears, I'll only tell you this: your couch is an engineering victory, Hiccup. It's sturdy yet surprisingly comfortable. Nice choice."

"Because I so picked that couch having your bedroom frolics in mind," Hiccup grumbled taking a spoonful of ice cream.

"Speaking of which, I should really buy one of my own."

Hiccup turned with a confused look at Jack. "Buy what of your own?"

"A bed," the silverhead explained as the key maker returned with their copy.

"How long are you planning on staying in that room?" Hiccup asked as he thanked the man and paid for the service.

"Stay for as long as you want, he said pretending to be my friend," Jack mocked impersonating the other guy.

"I did say that, and I'm not pretending to be your friend. I am your friend." Hiccup agreed defensively. He held out the copy of his apartment's key in front of the silver-haired guy. "And I meant it." Jack took it with some silent thanks. "I'm just wondering if you have a plan for what to do next."

Jack shrugged as they headed together to their next stop. "I'm not the kind of person who thinks that much ahead."

"Yet you managed to scavenge a girl from only God knows where and slept with her," Hiccup mocked.

"That's a clear example of me living in the now and not thinking ahead." A blonde girl in a blue dress ran past then, and as she made eye contact with the guys, Jack winked at her, making her blush and look the other way.

Hiccup sighed as they watched the girl until she was out of sight. "Frost, when are you gonna stop that?"

"Why would I?" Jack shrugged. "I'm having the time of my life!"

Hiccup snorted. "You're broke, you have no job and you're living on my spare room."

Jack lowered his shades to glare at him. "You sound like North."

"We're just trying to look out for you."

They got to the grocery store and Jack promptly stepped up to hold the automatic door open for a woman just walking out of the place. He bowed with his free hand stretched out and the woman giggled as she thanked him.

Hiccup facepalmed shaking his head negatively. "I love you, Frost, but you're a waste of natural resources," he said taking advantage of the open door and walking inside.

Jack followed him with his hands inside his jeans pockets and an annoyed expression on his face. "Thanks a lot, Third."

Hiccup picked a cart and headed to the frozen food section. "I told you you can stay with me, but I'd like to see some effort in return."

"Fine." Jack groaned. "What do you want? You want me to wait for you to come home wearing a cute pink apron and dinner warm and ready for my hubby?"

"First of all," Hiccup said opening a freezer door and picking a bag of peas, "where do you think you'll get an apron? You have no money. Second, pink is not your color."

Jack crossed his arms. "Are those really the points you wanna make?"

"And you suck at cooking."

"Hey"—the silverhead pointed at Hiccup threateningly,—"I may not be a professional like your girlfriend, but I can manage one or two dishes on my own."

"Of course," Hiccup scoffed as they continued down the aisle.

"A man in the kitchen is sexy as fuck," Jack explained.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "I'm sure he is."

"So what do you want from me?" Jack asked as he pulled out two pints of ice cream from a freezer.

Hiccup stopped in front of the other guy and poked him with his index finger to emphasize his next words, "Find. A. Job."

Jack pushed him away annoyed. "You think I could be a good ice cream seller?" he asked showing him the containers in each of his hands.

The auburn-haired guy just glared at him but said nothing. He grabbed the cart handle and headed to the other aisle. Soon enough, Hiccup noticed the big, gloomy grown-up following behind him. "What's wrong?" he asked looking at the other guy from over his shoulder.

Jack shrugged. "I guess being kicked out of Magic Mirror was kind of a hard punch to my confidence."

Hiccup sighed and waited for him to catch up with him. "Go to your uncle's publisher," he suggested. "I'm sure they're interested in you, you just gotta go there and make a real attempt." Hiccup looked at jack to make sure that he still got the silverhead's attention. Jack seemed to be mulling over something, so he continued, "If you don't like them, go to another publisher. Hell, go to all of the publishing houses in the country from what I care. You're a talented writer, Jack. Don't just throw that away."

Jack let out a humorless laugh. "You make it sound like it's so easy to just walk into that place and get out of there with a brand new contract now that my reputation is probably in the mud."

"Baby steps, then. You go there and talk, that's all I'm asking for. You go there, and you talk to that pretty editor you liked. Shouldn't be so hard for you, huh?"

"I don't wanna look desperate," Jack pondered. "Maybe I'll give it a few days. You know, let the lady miss me."

"Suit yourself," Hiccup said holding himself from saying something he shouldn't. "In the meantime, maybe you could start taking Toothless out for his walks. He doesn't exercise nearly as much as he should."

Jack nodded. "I could do that."

"And I want you to get back to writing." Hiccup saw Jack flinching. "I don't care if it's only on your journal for now, I wanna see you carrying that old notebook around like you used to."

Jack groaned. "Fine."

"Alright. We've got ourselves a deal then." Hiccup held out his hand for the other guy.

"Fucking extortionist," Jack mumbled shaking the auburn-haired guy's hand. "That's what you are, Third."

"But you know I love you, right?" Hiccup winked at him, to what Jack decided to turn on his heels and wait for Hiccup to finish shopping outside of the store.

* * *

Anna checked her app to make sure that she was in the right place and looked around the park trying to spot the Rock Troll's Food Truck green logo. She found it parked in the middle of the food trucks line and felt a little pride in the line of customers forming in front of it.

Adjusting the strap on her bag, she went straight to the serving window and knocked on it with the side of her hand. "I'd like to place a special order, please," she said loud enough for her voice to be heard inside.

A tall blond man with broad shoulders turned around to look at her and immediately smiled. "There's a line for orders," he said gesturing with his knife.

Anna laughed. "I know. I was just wondering if I could get a kiss from my fiancé before I hop on the train."

"You're leaving already?" he asked wiping his hands on a white towel and gesturing for her to get to the back.

"Yeah, I wanna catch my sister before she leaves her office," she explained.

The blond man opened the door and jumped down from the truck. "Well, have a safe trip."

"I will," she said as he shut the door and wrapped her arms around his neck leaning on her tiptoes.

He put his hands on both sides of her waist, his eyes locked with hers. "Say hi to your sister for me."

She nodded. "Of course."

"And please, try not to get in trouble," he added with a smirk.

Anna scoffed feeling indignant. "Who do you think I am, Kristoff?"

"Hmm, let's see…" Kristoff made a pensive face. "The girl who fell inside a river during our first date? Anna Arendelle, the clumsiest girl I've ever known?"

Anna pouted offended by his words.

"Also the woman I love and want to spend the rest of my life with?" he asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Awww…" Anna smiled pushing herself up and giving him a chaste kiss. "I'm gonna miss you."

Kristoff laughed. "It's only a weekend. You're gonna be having so much fun that you won't even have time to miss me."

"That's not true," Anna protested.

"Hey, Kristoff!" his partner called from inside the truck. "How long are you gonna stay out there? I sure could use a little help!"

Anna untangled herself from her fiancé and pushed him in the direction of the truck's door. "Duty calls," she said.

He wrapped his arms around her frame and gave her a tight high. "If it makes you happy, I'm gonna miss you too," he whispered in her ear making her giggle. "I got something for you to eat on the train." He went inside the truck and brought back a sandwich wrapped up.

"Are you sure? There actually is a line for orders, you know…"

"Linguini made the wrong sandwich," Kristoff said with a shrug.

"It wasn't my fault!" Linguini protested from the waving a spatula in the air. "You need to learn how to write, you illiterate piece of bacon."

Kristoff rolled his eyes. "Less talking, more grilling, chicken bones."

Anna laughed at their antics. "Thanks, Kristoff."

"See you in two days," he said pulling her for one last kiss.

"Yeah," Anna agreed with a smile. "See ya, LInguini!"

"Bye Anna!"

Waving the two guys goodbye, she headed to the train station, where she could buy a ticket to New Burgess.

* * *

After going for a walk with Toothless and concluding that the dog was by far a better wingman than his best friend ever was, he decided to drop by the genius duo's office to kill some time.

"Hey, it's me, handsome, famous writer gracing you nerds with my presence," Jack told the girl on the other side of the intercom line.

"Uh… I was told not to open the door for you," she said, and he could feel the discomfort in her voice.

Jack rolled his eyes. "You tell Hiro to stop being a dick and let me in."

He heard some muffled discussion and screeching noises, then Hiro's voice saying, "Stop trying to intimidate my employees, you son of a bitch."

"Open the fucking door, asshole," Jack groaned. "It's hot outside."

There was a minute of silence before he heard a buzzing sound the door was unlocked.

"Thanks, Hiro," Jack said as he pulled Toothless inside by the collar. "Come on, buddy." He guided the dog to the elevator and pressed the button to the sixth floor. When the elevator's doors opened, he found Hiro waiting for him on the other side of the glass wall with his arms crossed and an annoyed look on his face.

"Why the hell did you bring the dog?"

"Come on, is this any way to talk about Toothless? He has feelings, you know." Jack said walking to the office's entrance.

"This is an animal-free zone, Frost."

Jack leaned down to rub the dog's back protectively. "But Toothless is family!"

Hiro kept staring at him from the other side of the glass without moving a single muscle. Jack continued smirking waiting for the inevitable. With an audible sigh, Hiro stretched his hand to the security panel and unlocked the door. "He's staying in the waiting area," the Asian-American guy said, "and if he gets anywhere near my equipment, you'll have to explain to Hiccup why his dog's head is nailed to the wall."

"Jesus Christ!" Jack gasped horrified as he went inside the office and released Toothless' collar. "Who peed in your coffee?"

"Don't mind him," the lawyer said as he walked past them in the direction of the coffee machine. "He's been working nonstop since yesterday so he's a little cranky."

Hiro gave Wilbur the middle finger with a scowl.

Upon further inspection, he could see Hiro's eyes were red and he seemed agitated like he had had too much caffeine or some other kind of drug. Taking into consideration Hiro's smaller stature and cute youthful face, it made him look fragile and on the verge of breaking. "You need a break, Hamada," Jack said casually hiding his concern.

Hiro shrugged and turned on his heels to walk back to his desk. "I don't have time for that."

"He's right, Hiro," Violet said from her own desk. "We're not really tight on any deadlines, so why don't you slow down a little bit?"

Hiro stopped typing to glare at her from over his monitor. "I don't tell you how to do your work, so you don't tell me how to do mine, okay?"

Violet rolled her eyes throwing her hands in the air. "Sorry, I won't care anymore."

At that moment, the workshop's door slid open and out came Hiccup talking with his protégé Guy. "Oh, Hey, Jack!" he said excitedly at the sight of his friend. "And Toothless!" he added as the black German Shepard ran and jumped on him to lick his face. "Hey, buddy…" As he rubbed Toothless' head, he looked at the silverhead. "I didn't know you were coming."

"Me neither." Jack shrugged going to one of the couches and making himself comfortable. "But as I was running in the park with Toothless, some girls came to us—why didn't you tell me that your dog was like a magnet for hot chicks?"

Hiccup rubbed his neck embarrassed. "I… wouldn't know that…"

"Of course you wouldn't," Jack mocked shaking his head. Hiccup was a handsome fella but seemed oblivious to his own effect on the opposite sex. He rarely noticed when others showed interest in him. That was already a thing back when they were in college together, but the condition had worsened since he had hooked up with Astrid. "So these girls invited me for drinks at some fancy club and I figured you nerds could use a night out. What do you say?"

"Uh…" Hiccup flinched uncomfortably, but the pressure of the silver-haired guy's gaze made him sigh in defeat. "Yeah, sure. I'm in." He turned to look at the rest of the office. "What about you guys?"

"Sorry, I'm going back to my folks' place," Violet said.

"Same," Wilbur added.

"Technically, I'm still underage, and I shouldn't be drinking with my bosses," Guy explained. "So I think I'll pass."

Tinkerbell gave the two guys an apologetic smile. "I already have plans with my sister, maybe another time."

"Which leaves you, Hiro," Hiccup commented looking at his partner.

"Where exactly are you planning your alcohol extravaganza?"

"Some place called Exodus?" Jack said checking the address one of the girls had sent to his phone.

"I know that place." Hiro nodded. Friend of mine owns it."

Jack snapped his fingers and looked at Hiro eagerly. "Even better. You can score us free drinks."

Hiro rolled his eyes. "I never said I was coming."

Jack glared at him starting to feel annoyed. "Stop playing hard to get, Hamada. You probably don't have anything better to do anyway."

"Screw you, Frost."

Hiccup stepped between the other two guys with his hands raised in a peaceful gesture. "Come on, Hiro. It'll be fun."

"With Frost involved?" Hiro let out a loud snort. "Highly doubt that."

"You say that, but you know I'm the life of every party," Jack said leaning back with his hands behind folded at the nape of his neck and a triumphant look on his face.

Hiro narrowed his eyes at the silverhead, then through gritted teeth, he said, "Fine. I'll stick around for one round of beers."

"What are you talking about?" Jack laughed mischievously. "Babe, we're doing shots tonight."

* * *

At around 5:30 in the afternoon, multiple meetings happening at the same time in the lounge area of the Guardians' office. A variety of guests were waiting in the lounge area, some of them being authors whose books were signed by the company. As a matter of fact, Wasabi was in reality in the middle of his so awaited meeting with one of his least favorite authors: Fredrick Fredrickson IV, a fiction writer that was now venturing into uncharted medieval waters.

"Freddie, you can't add a new character three chapters from the ending of the book," Wasabi said as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Why not?" Freddie asked as he stacked the coffee creamer little cups one on top of each other and built a tower.

"It leaves too much open," the editor explained. "You gave her an important role in the story, but you didn't dedicate enough time to develop her character. Her addition to the plot would only confuse the readers."

"What if I make a series?" Freddie asked wiggling his eyebrows.

Wasabi narrowed his eyes. "You don't have enough material for more than one book."

Freddie clicked his tongue. "Yet."

Wasabi continued to carefully analyze the author. "I thought you wanted to write a post-apocalyptic story next."

"Oh, yeah." Freddie nodded excitedly. "I do."

The editor waited for a moment tapping his fingers on his knee. "…So?"

"So what?"

"Are you gonna reconsider your latest chapter?" Wasabi asked expectantly.

Freddie stared at him with a blank expression on his face until he snapped awake and said, "What if she had the power to be invisible and she's been in the story the whole time but the audience didn't know? This way I could write a spin-off book telling the story from her point of view."

"But…"—Wasabi frowned thinking—"wouldn't her point of view be the same as the reader's point of view right now?"

"Mind-blowing." Freddie made an explosion sound with his mouth.

Wasabi sighed rubbing his eyes. "Why are you so attached to this peasant girl character anyway?"

"I'm not really, attached per se." Freddie shrugged sitting back on the couch and propped his feet on the coffee table. His clumsy movements shook the liquid inside the mugs Wasabi had prepared for the meeting, and the editor admonished him internally. "Her character struck me while I was in the shower. However, I could say that she is based on my neighbor next door."

"Oh, really?" Wasabi looked curiously at the author as he took a sip from his lukewarm coffee.

Freddie folded his hands behind his head. "Yeah, I think my lizard ate her cat, so I thought this could be a cool apology."

Wasabi stared at the other guy mouth-opened. "Freddie. I do agree that you should apologize," he admitted. "But don't throw a half-hearted apology in the middle of your manuscript. Go to her door and look in her eyes when you're apologizing."

"You're right, Wasabi." Freddie put his feet on the floor and pointed at the editor determined. "I should do that."

"Yeah you should," Wasabi agreed jumping onboard with his enthusiasm.

Freddie waved a fist in the air. "Yeah! I'm gonna tell her 'yo, I'm sorry my lizard ate your cat, but if you think about it, your cat shouldn't jump to my balcony, so it's really your fault that he got eaten in the first place'."

"Y-yeah…" Wasabi stuttered.

"Even so, because I felt guilty about it, I eternalized you in my book. You are of great importance to the story, you help the protagonist escape prison and then you die with a slit throat. So you're welcome."

"YOU'RE GOING TO KILL HER?" Wasabi yelled unconsciously standing up in surprise.

"Well, yeah," Freddie said nonchalantly. "I thought it would be a good plot twist. Don't tell me you're starting to feel attached to her, Wasabi?" he asked with an amused chuckle.

"Freddie." Wasabi sighed sitting down exhausted. "If her existence is gonna last less than three chapters, YOU DON'T NEED TO ADD HER TO THE STORY TO BEGIN WITH!" He felt sweat dripping down his forehead and his heartbeat had increased abnormally. Wasabi was no violent person whatsoever, but he felt like he could jump on Freddie's throat like an animal at any minute.

"You need to relax, Wasabi, my man," Freddie said closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

Wasabi closed his hands into tight fists and bit the inside of his mouth to control himself. He couldn't take much more of it. He had to end that meeting before he did something that could jeopardize his job. "Just try to think of something else, please," he said controlling his volume.

"If you really insist…"

"I do," the editor said eagerly. "And please fix the errors we already discussed."

Freddie nodded. "Alright."

Wasabi quickly stood up and stretched out a hand for his author. "Thank you for meeting me today, Freddie."

"No prob." Freddie smiled as he shook the other man's hand. "Thank you for having me, dude."

"Alright. If there's anything else you need from me—"

"Now that you mentioned—"

"—Please, send me an email and I'll take care of it!" Wasabi rushed Freddie to the doors.

"Yes, sir!" Freddie, oblivious to his editor's anxious behavior, saluted excitedly.

"Take care, okay?" Wasabi said as he watched Freddie walking past the reception and out the office.

"See you next week, Wasabi!" Freddie said with a wave of goodbye.

"Can't wait," Wasabi mumbled as he turned around to head back to his desk.

Getting there, he immediately collapsed in his chair and started crying silently behind his hands.

"Welcome back, champ." Elsa rubbed his shoulders comfortingly.

Wasabi's voice came muffled as he said, "How do I switch authors?"

"I don't think you can until he finishes this book," Elsa answered him.

"And later?" he asked hopefully.

"You'd have to explain to Freddie why you don't want to work with him anymore…"

"Where're just not compatible," Wasabi pointed out. "Next point."

"And you'd have to find an editor who'd want to take your place."

Wasabi cried harder at that. Elsa continued rubbing his back making slow circles as she said, "Hey there…"

Her telephone started ringing, but she continued comforting as she picked it up. From the corner of his eyes, he took a glimpse of the girl listening to the other side of the line. "Can you send her in?" she asked on the phone. With some quick gratitude words,, she had soon hung up the phone.

"Hey, Anna is coming up," she told Wasabi.

"She is?" Wasabi asked wiping away his tears.

"Yeah, so cheer up," Elsa said moving her chair back to its normal position. "You know how she gets around sad faces."

Wasabi stood up from his chair sniffing. "Excuse me while I go to the restroom freshen up myself."

"Of course."

Not long after Wasabi had returned from the bathroom calmed down and fresh-faced, Anna appeared in the office with a travel bag hung across her shoulders and a huge grin on her splattered on her face.

"Elsa!" she squealed as she spotted her sister.

"Hi, Anna." Elsa waved standing up. "You're early."

"I couldn't wait to see you!" Anna said running to hug the platinum-blonde.

Anna turned to the guy beside her sister and went to hug him next. "Hi, Wasabi."

"Afternoon, Miss Anna," Wasabi said returning the hug.

"Where's my cousin?" Anna asked looking around the office for the other girl.

"She was with the Arts team," Elsa told her. She gestured to a free chair from the desk across from hers. "Take a seat while you wait, I still have some work left to do."

"Alright…" Anna pulled the chair closed to the two editors' seats.

"So how have you been, Anna?" Wasabi asked as he continued typing.

"Great, actually. Missing you guys immensely," she confided.

"What about the wedding planning?"

"It's going surprisingly smoothly," Anna admitted as she put both hands on Elsa's shoulders and gave her a gentle shake. "All thanks to Elsa."

Elsa scoffed, but her eyes continued glued to her monitor screen. She immediately stopped and shouted, "Wedding!" Then, she grabbed her schedule book and started flipping through the pages quickly. "Nononononono…"

"Elsa?" Wasabi called her worried.

"Oh, no." Elsa pressed a hand to her face.

"What's wrong?" Anna asked looking from Wasabi to her sister.

"Meg's launch party is on the same day as the wedding," Elsa mumbled.

Wasabi's eyes grew wide. "What?"

Elsa shook her head. "I didn't realize until now."

"What's going on?" Anna asked growing anxious.

"One of my authors is going to have her book release on your wedding's day," Elsa explained.

Realization hit the younger Arendelle and she sank back on her seat. "Does that mean… you can't go?"

"Of course she can," Wasabi said with conviction. "Because I'm taking her place on the day of the launch party."

"Don't be silly, Wasabi—"

"You'd be the silly one if you didn't attend your own sister's wedding, Elsa," Wasabi interrupted his fellow co-worker. "If you're so against me working with Megara—"

"That's not the point—"

"—then maybe you could use this event as an exercise for Peri to get her feet wet."

Elsa narrowed her eyes at him. "… What are you talking about?"

Wasabi shrugged. "I'll be the support, and we'll let Peri take charge of things. See how she deals with the pressure."

"She's never done a big event like this," Elsa protested.

"Everyone has to start somewhere."

Elsa bit her lip as she processed things. "I'll see with Peri."

"She already left, so that'll have to wait until Monday," Wasabi said looking at the desk Peri usually occupied.

"And I'll also have to consult Pitch about it," Elsa added.

Wasabi nodded. "I can talk to him with you."

"Thank you, Wasabi."

"That's what friends are for." Wasabi winked at Elsa, then turned to Anna with an apologetic smile. "I'm afraid I won't be able to go to your wedding, Anna."

"That's too bad," Anna said with a sigh. She took his hand and have it a tight squeeze. "The cake we chose is pretty good."

Wasabi squeezed her hand back. "That's a shame."

"I guess we'll have to have fun tonight then, won't we?" Anna asked excitedly.

Elsa glared at her from over her shoulder. "Are you serious?"

"Of course I am! It's not always that I'm in the city to party with you guys."

"You make it sound like we party all the time," Wasabi scoffed leaning back on his chair.

Anna looked at him with an arched eyebrow. "Don't you?"

Wasabi narrowed his eyes. "Did you come here just to mock us?"

"Of course not, I came here because I love you guys!"

"ANNA!" they heard the shout coming from behind them.

"PUNZIE!" Anna squealed back standing up and running to hug her cousin. "I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!"

Wasabi flinched inserting a finger inside his right ear. "Okay, I think I'm deaf in one ear..."

Elsa laughed shaking her head. "Let's wrap everything up so we can get out of here."

* * *

Anna wanted to make the most of her weekend back in the city, so she decided they should find a nightclub to have some drinks and maybe dance as much as their grown-up bodies allowed them to. So she got Rapunzel to pick one club from the many options Google gave them and soon enough they were inside a cab heading there together.

Anna and Rapunzel were sharing a couch giggling together over their drinks as they watched the crowd moving together on the dancefloor. Even though they were in a different area, they still had to raise their voices in order to be heard over the blasting music.

"The DJ is cute," Rapunzel said pointing at the DJ booth where a young man with a samurai ponytail and bangs falling over his left eye. "Why don't you go flirt with him, Elsa?" she asked genuinely, making Wasabi snigger.

Elsa slapped Wasabi's upper arm and rolled her eyes. "Why would I ever flirt with a DJ?"

Rapunzel let out a dramatic. "One can always dream."

"Oh, this is fun," Anna said letting herself slide on the couch cushion. "I can't really invite my teacher friends to go out for drinks."

"That's why you're with us tonight and we're getting wasted!" Rapunzel cheered raising her class to the center of their circle.

"Woo-hoo!" Anna clinked glasses with her cousin and soon was followed by the less-excited Wasabi and Elsa.

"You two need to slow down," Elsa said gesturing for the waiter and asking for some water for the two drunk girls.

"Boo, Elsa!" Anna threw a napkin at her sister.

"Hey, isn't that Mr. Jack Frost?" Wasabi asked gesturing with his head to the bar.

"What?" Elsa asked, her attention immediately peaked.

Rapunzel turned to look in the direction Wasabi had pointed at. "Where?"

"Who's Jack Frost?" Anna asked confused looking from Wasabi to her sister, then at her cousin, then back at Wasabi.

"Just some guy your sister wants to bang," Rapunzel said, her eyes still scanning through the bar stools looking the mentioned guy.

"WHAT?" Anna yelled nearly falling from the couch to the floor.

Elsa calmly took a sip from her cocktail. "She's lying."

"Oh, right." Rapunzel waved with her hand not looking at the rest of them. "It's the other way around. He's just some guy who wants to bang your sister."

"Again… WHAT?" Anna jumped leaning over the back of the couch and scanning the club for the unknown guy. "Where is he?"

Rapunzel pointed directly at a part of the bar. "Over there flirting with the bartender." She groaned crossing her arms. "Manwhore."

"Hm…" Anna narrowed her eyes, but her vision was already starting to blur from the alcohol. "Who?"

"White hair," Wasabi hinted trying to help the girl.

"Would you stop that?" Elsa begged embarrassed.

"Oh, shoot. Duck." Rapunzel hid behind the couch backrest pulling Anna with her.

"What happened?" Wasabi asked looking from Rapunzel's frightened state to the bar.

"He looked this way," Rapunzel hissed.

"Why am I hiding?" Anna mumbled rubbing her arm where Rapunzel had suddenly grabbed her. "He doesn't even know me."

Rapunzel made eager gestures in the platinum-blonde's direction. "Elsa, you need to hide too!"

Elsa narrowed her eyes at her cousin with a hint of annoyance. "Why? He already saw you."

"And he's coming this way," Wasabi added waving.

"Stop that, Wasabi!" Rapunzel yelled. "He's not supposed to know."

"Know what?" Wasabi asked with an arched eyebrow.

"That we were spying on him!"

"…So that's what you were doing," a male voice said from somewhere behind the girls' seats. Slowly, the cousins raised their heads to find a good-looking silver-haired guy smirking at them with a beer in one of his hands. "I admit I was curious."

"Oh, hello, Mr. Frost," Rapunzel said straightening up and tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Hi." The man intently looked at her. "I'm afraid I don't remember your name."

"I-I… I'm Rapunzel!" Rapunzel pushed her cousin closer to her. "This is Anna. That's Wasabi and you probably remember Elsa."

The infamous Jack Frost looked at Anna's sister and threw a charming smile at her. "Of course."

Elsa waved at him. "Good evening, Mr. Frost."

"I didn't expect to meet you in a place like this, Miss Arendelle," he said holding out his bottle of beer.

Elsa clinked her drink with his and smiled. "What a coincidence."

Jack nodded. "Indeed."

Elsa looked past the guy in front of her and gestured to the bar. "Are those your friends? They seem to be watching over you."

Jack took a moment to look back at his friends and saw them waving excitedly at him. "Yeah, we're having kind of a guys night out."

"Well, don't let me ruin your night, Mr. Frost."

"If anything, my night just got better after seeing you, Miss Arendelle." Jack winked at her charmingly.

Elsa laughed behind her hand. "Go back to your friends, Mr. Frost."

"Why don't we join parties?"

"Yeah, right!" Rapunzel spat, then recoiled shyly as the rest of the group looked at her. "Sorry."

"Well, I shall go." Jack looked at the group saluting them with his beer. "You guys have a great night."

"You too, sir," Wasabi saluted back at him.

Anna and Rapunzel unceremoniously watched Jack sashaying back to his seat at the bar. "Okay, I see what you were talking about, Punz," Anna said nodding. "That guy has danger written all over him."

Elsa facepalmed shaking her head. "Not you too."

"But you know, if anything, I'd say Elsa is fairly safe," Anna continued turning around and leaning back against the backrest.

"How can you be so sure?" Rapunzel asked.

Anna shrugged casually. "'Cause pretty boys like him are so not my sister's type." Anna laughed boisterously. "He can try all he wants, he will never have a chance with our Elsa." She chugged the rest of her drink before adding, "I have no worries about that Jack Frost."

"See? You should listen to Anna more often," Elsa told Rapunzel gesturing to her sister. Then she frowned and looked at Wasabi. "I cannot believe I just said that."

"Hey!" Anna glared at the platinum-blonde feeling offended. "That's so not cool."

"You know I love you, right, little sister?"

"Yeah, sure," Anna mumbled. "And to think that I came all the way here to receive this kind of treatment…"

* * *

 **You can see some of the connections happening, but I still have a lot of other characters to write.**

 **Now for the game** **of "How many times do you think [blank] is going to happen?"**

 **1\. How many guests appearances will we have in the Guardians? So far: 5**

 **2\. How many characters will Jack bed? So far: 3**

 **A fellow reader suggested adding the question "** **how many times does Jack do something** **embarrassing?" to the game.** **I don't think Jack gets embarrassed much by the shit he does, but we shall give it a chance. Count so far: A BIG FAT ZERO**.

 **See you in the next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

When morning came, the first thing that Hiccup became aware of was something wet brushing across his entire face. Flinching away from the uncomfortable sensation, he buried his head under the pillow, but he moved too fast too soon, and a wave of dizziness overwhelmed his inebriated stated. The constant buzzing of the AC—something his mind would normally ignore—made his brain vibrate, which in consequence made him nauseous, which in consequence made him want to curl up in the darkness of his comforter and die.

He felt heavy and constricted, though he soon realized that wasn't a trick of his mind, but sixty-plus pounds of canine extra weight over his body. Refusing to open his eyes just yet, Hiccup lied on his back and stretched out a hand to pat Toothless in the head. It was like someone had repeatedly smashed a bowling ball against his head, and it took him a while to realize that those were actually the side effects of going out for drinks with Jack and Hiro the night before.

Finally opening his eyes, he stretched his neck to look at the nightstand. His alarm clock marked 8:37 a.m.

With a groan, he slowly pushed himself out of bed. He leaned against the wall for support as he dragged his feet out of the room and into the corridor.

Midway to the kitchen, Toothless caught up with the auburn-haired man with his usual amount of energy, waggling his tail and jumping around Hiccup. "Easy, buddy." Hiccup scratched the dog behind its ears. "I'm not awake enough for your level of excitement yet."

He went to the sink and filled a tall glass with water. He felt like his mouth was stuffed with cotton balls and he eagerly chugged down the cold liquid with gusto. He drank another glass and a half until he felt properly hydrated, then rummaged through the cabinets for the coffee beans.

After turning the coffee machine on, Hiccup went to the cupboard and produced a bag of dog food. He went to Toothless' bowl and poured a generous amount of kibbles into it. Before he could even get up on his feet, Toothless was already attacking the meal.

He put the food bag back in its place and grabbed his mug leaning against the counter as he waited for his beverage to be made. Closing his eyes, he waited.

A beeping sound signaled that his coffee was ready, and he poured himself a generous mug. Taking a seat at the breakfast bar, he held his mug with both hands in front of his face sniffing the scents of the caffeinated drink.

His second mug of coffee was already half-empty by the time Jack's bedroom door opened. He didn't bother looking up—the action would be too exhausting, and he would rather not waste the little energy he had retained. His dog, on the other hand, raced to the door scratching the floor with his claws and barking loudly, making a female voice cry in panic.

"Toothless," Hiccup called authoritatively, turning around on his seat. "Leave our guest and go wake Jack up."

His owner's voice was enough to stop Toothless' advances, and the dog did as he was told, ignoring the lady and disappearing through the recently-opened door.

"Toothless! Get out of here!" Hiccup heard his roommate shouting.

He then looked at the girl—a pretty red-haired girl shyly tugging on the hem of her crumpled up skirt. "Morning," he said with a sympathetic smile. "Could I offer you some coffee?"

The girl looked up at him and returned the smile. "Oh, thank you, but I don't drink coffee."

"Mm…" Hiccup hummed. "Can I get you anything else, then? We have tea, milk... Actually, scratch that, I'm not sure how long that's been inside the fridge…"

The girl laughed. "No, it's fine. I actually have an appointment and I should get going."

Hiccup nodded. "Well, at least take a fruit for the road," he said standing up and walking to the fridge. "Do you like apples?"

The girl blushed shyly. "I do."

Hiccup washed it in the sink and wiped if before handing her the fruit.

"Thank you, it's very kind of you." she said looking him in the eye. .

"Don't mention it." Figuring that the girl was too uncomfortable and he himself feeling unsure of how to behave in that kind of situation, he decided to give her some space and let her take her time at ease. "I should check if my dog hasn't licked my roommate to death. Feel free to grab anything else from the fridge. Key's in the door, you can just leave it unlocked when you leave."

The girl nodded and Hiccup took his mug from the counter before heading to the corridor.

When he got to Jack's room, he found Toothless on top of an unconscious Jack, the dog's black tail hitting Jack's naked back rhythmically like a pendulum. The silverhead lied on his stomach with his cheek smashed against the sofa bed.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead," Hiccup said from the doorframe.

Jack grunted. "Get this furry beast off of me."

"Now, is that any way of speaking of a member of our family, Jack?" Hiccup asked not bothering to hide his amusement.

Jack flickered a finger in his direction as a silent response, making the auburn-haired guy chuckle.

"C'mere buddy," Hiccup called tapping his thigh. He crouched down to pet the dog as it jumped off the sofa in his direction. "So when exactly did you have time to find that girl?"

Jack rolled on his back stretching his muscles and rested his folded hands behind his head. "You really oughtta pay more attention to your surroundings, Third." He yawned, tears forming in the corner of his eyes. "She was at the club."

Hiccup frowned. His memories from the night before were blurry and fragmented, but he was fairly certain that he had taken a cab back home with his two friends, and there was no gingerhead with them inside the car. He pointed that out to his roommate and the smug smirk that formed on the silverhead's face made Hiccup want to punch Jack on the nose.

"Yep," Jack said popping the 'p'. "But before that, I slipped her your address and suggested that she meet me."

Hiccup stared at him dumbfounded. "I feel like I should have issues with you bringing random girls to my apartment without my consent, Frost."

"Do you?" Jack asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Nah," Hiccup replied with a shrug. "I appreciate you not ditching Hiro and I for the first walking skirt that crossed your way."

Jack winked at the auburn-haired guy. "Of course not. It was boys' night out."

Hiccup chuckled. "As for your promiscuity, that's an issue that only concerns you. Unless you get knocked up. I'm not ready to be an uncle yet."

Jack groaned. "Knock on wood, you asshole."

In the background, the sound of keys could be heard. Both men stopped and Hiccup waited for the front door to open and close before saying, "Looks like the coast is clear." He gave his friend a last pointed look. "Get up. Your latest sexual conquest has left, and I made coffee."

"Oh, Third. Is it too early to utter my eternal love for you yet?"

With a roll of eyes, Hiccup muttered, "Just get dressed, you idiot."

* * *

Elsa sat at the dinner table nibbling a piece of toast as she read the manuscript she had received from her coworker the day before. She had to smile at the neatly handwritten notes on the corners of the pages. Belle's passion for her job was evident in each careful message she wrote, which only made the reading more enjoyable.

At some point, she heard her sister's grunts and watched as Anna stood up from the living room's carpet rubbing her eyes and dragged herself to the bathroom without a single glance in Elsa's direction. She had finished reading another page by the time a yawning Anna emerged from the corridor.

"You're up early," Elsa commented.

"Teacher's habits," Anna mumbled going to the kitchen and filling a glass of water. She went to the table and sat on the seat across from Elsa's. "Morning."

"Good morning." Elsa looked at Anna's mess of a hair and the bags under her eyes and had to suppress a laugh. "How are you feeling?"

Anna grunted with the rim of the glass between her lips. "Like I've been through a pasta roller. My back is killing me."

Elsa shook her head. "That's what you get for sleeping on the floor."

"Mm…" Anna supported her head in her free hand and closed her eyes. "What time was Moana supposed to be here again?"

"Around nine," Elsa said checking her watch. "Which means we probably should wake Rapunzel up."

Anna nodded as she got on her feet. "Punz, get the hell up," she said walking to the couch, where their cousin slept. The other girl didn't react, so Anna threw a pillow in her direction. Rapunzel groaned as Anna shook her by the shoulder. "Wake up. We have to help Elsa's new roommate move in."

"Mmpff…"

Anna sighed. "Rapunzel. I'm gonna throw water on you if you don't open your eyes."

"You wouldn't dare ruining Elsa's couch," Rapunzel mumbled snuggling on the couch.

Elsa chuckled. "How late were you two up last night?"

"Sometime between four and five," Anna said with a shrug. Then, she gave her cousin's forehead a flick.

"Ow!" Rapunzel cried sitting up in shock. "What the hell?"

Anna straightened up crossing her arms. "Oh, good. You're awake."

Rapunzel threw glares at the younger Arendelle sister as she rubbed her forehead. "You're pretty violent for someone who's supposed to be shaping the minds of the youth, aren't you?"

Anna shrugged nonchalant and watched as Rapunzel pushed herself off the couch mumbling about the strawberry blonde's rude manners all the way to the bathroom.

Elsa shook her head with a dramatic sign. "Come eat breakfast, sister of mine. I bought your favorite cereal."

The younger sister nodded heading back to the kitchen and looking around the pantry for the food options. "You know," she said picking the box of cereal and opening the fridge to look for the milk carton. "I asked Punzie about that guy from yesterday and she just could not stop complaining about him. That's why we were up until morning."

Elsa rolled her eyes flipping another page on the manuscript. "Don't listen to her. Rapunzel is being paranoid."

"She used some very colorful language to describe him," Anna added returning to her seat at the dining table with a bowl and a spoon. "Haven't heard her talking about someone that way since… Well, since Hans."

"Uh-huh…" Elsa mumbled. As memories of her cousin's nagging voice ringed in her mind, she added, "Just so we're clear, I have not slept with him, nor have any intention to do so."

Anna narrowed her eyes munching on her food. She watched the older girl carefully as she said, "I never said you have."

Elsa let out a contemptuous snort. "I've been dealing with your cousin, and she made her opinion very clear."

"Well, your sister on the other hand happens to be a very understanding person," Anna retorted with a shrug. "Rapunzel gave some confusing explanation for why you agreed to work with that guy. Some legitimate and noble reasons, I'm sure," Anna rambled making wide gestured with one hand. "So I trust your judgement."

Elsa smiled. "Thank you, Anna. I really appreciate that."

"Hey," Anna stretched an arm to squeeze Elsa's hand. "I may be away but I'll always have your back, sis."

As if she had been waiting for the right moment to open the door, the sisters watched as Rapunzel—hair tamed, face washed and eyes awake—purposefully crossed the apartment towards the kitchen to grab herself a cup of coffee and a toast.

"What are we talking about?" Rapunzel asked as she took the seat beside the younger Arendelle girl.

"Your favorite topic of the moment," Elsa stated with a look of disapproval thrown at her cousin.

"Yzma's new hair accessories collection?" Rapunzel asked, her eyes lighting up.

Anna shook her head. "Nope. The guy you despise the most right now."

Rapunzel's expression darkened and her shoulders sagged. "Oh. You mean Frost."

"You know, Rapunzel," Elsa said crossing her hands on the table. Her eyes moved to lock with the other girl's. "As a girl who judged me for being too eager to establish a solely professional relationship with that guy, you show quite a lot of interest in him."

Rapunzel rolled her eyes taking a big bite of her toast. "I don't trust him. And I don't like him thinking that he can do whatever the hell he wants just because he has a pretty face."

"You also said he sucked as a writer," Anna added.

Elsa raised an eyebrow at that piece of information. "You've read his books?"

"Technically, I have not…" Rapunzel mumbled stirring her coffee with a spoon. "But I read some of the summaries… And he writes about James Bond-esque heroes solving crimes, saving the world and getting the girl in the end." Rapunzel groaned. "I mean, puh-lease."

"That kind of poor judgement is not suited for our profession, Rapunzel," Elsa stated coldly making Anna suck in a breath with apprehension. The platinum blonde watched as her sister looked down at her lap and fidgeted on her chair. "He's a published author with a fair fan base and great response from the critics. Do not dismiss his work based off of your misconceptions alone. It's offensive not only to him, but to anyone who's worked on his books or appreciates his stories."

Rapunzel blushed embarrassed. "Sorry…"

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to," Elsa said, making her cousin recoil even more on her seat. She sighed as guilt hit her and softened her voice tone as she continued, "I know you worry, and I appreciate your concern, Rapunzel. But you're old enough to understand you shouldn't talk badly about someone behind their back when you didn't even give them a chance to prove you wrong. Whether he and I get to work together or not, I hope you show some professionalism on the matter."

Rapunzel nodded. "Of course, Elsa." Rapunzel rubbed her eyes tiredly and sighed. "You're right, I let emotions blur my reasoning. I still don't like him—"

"Nobody asked you to."

"—but I will at least acknowledge him as a writer and I will withhold my opinion about him."

"Aww, Punzie." Anna beamed resting her chin on both hands. Her cheerful voice tone helped lighten the mood. "Look at you acting all mature and grown-up."

Elsa bit her lip holding back the mock comment that was on the tip of her tongue, whereas an oblivious Rapunzel smiled weakly at Anna. "I can't have you and Elsa spoiling me forever."

Anna leaned closer to her cousin and smacked a kiss on the other girl's cheek. "Of course you can. You're the family baby."

"You're only a year older than me, Anna," Rapunzel mumbled rolling her eyes.

"You two are the family babies," Elsa said. "I'm proud of how mature both of you have become."

The other two girls beamed. Anna's grin spread from one ear to the other. "Thanks, Elsa!"

Elsa smiled standing up from the table and gathered her dirty tableware. "Now let's get over with all this mushy talk. Moana should be arriving soon, and I'm pretty sure I saw wine stains on my coffee table."

* * *

Hiccup had announced that he'd be going out for a walk in the park with Toothless, and Jack, being the closet loner that he was, had agreed on accompanying them.

Hiccup had also brought a frisbee with him, so there they stood, two guys in the middle of a nice grass area alternately throwing a plastic disk for their dog to catch.

Toothless excitedly chased after the frisbee, making slobber rain all around him as he ran back and forth with his tongue stuck out. Every time he came back, one of the guys praised him and stroked his head, making him eager to complete the task again.

At some point, a pair of girls showed up and set yoga mats a small distance from them. Jack's 'beautiful specimens' sensor rang and he casually smiled at the girls, making them giggle in response.

Hiccup rolled his eyes at his friend's antics. "Didn't you already have enough activity last night?"

The silverhead shrugged. "Some people go to the gym…" Jack trailed off with a wave of his hands.

"Restrain your fucking libido, you whore."

"Mind your own goddamn libido, you slutshaming snob," Jack retorted without skipping a beat.

Toothless came back and dropped the frisbee between the two guys. Hiccup bent down to get it, and they heard the two girls squealing about how cute the dog was.

An idea struck Jack and he snapped his fingers getting the dog's attention. "C'mere, boy," he called.

Hiccup narrowed his eyes, his brain able to read his friend's plan in no time. "Tell me you are not planning on using my dog to score random girls at the park."

Jack shrugged choosing to use his silence as a reply.

"Alright, Toothless," the silverhead said rubbing the dog's back. "It's time you put your big doggy eyes into action. You still got some making up to do for this morning, you huge pile of fur."

Jack gestured for Hiccup to hand him the dog's leash.

"Asshole," Hiccup grumbled as he begrudgingly gave his friend the item.

"Coming, Third?" Jack asked attaching the chain to Toothless' collar.

Hiccup shook his head. "I refuse to be a part of this."

"Suit yourself," Jack said straightening up.

"Text me when you're done with your lust hunt. I'm trusting you my dog, Frost."

"Worry not, master. Toothless is in good hands."

Hiccup rolled his eyes and turned on his heels without another word. Trying to tune out his friend's antics, he looked around for something to do while he waited. He figured purchasing a pretzel from some random vendor would be a good enough way of spending his free time as any...

* * *

Following Elsa's directions, the girls rushed to finish breakfast and by the time Rapunzel was done washing the dishes and Elsa and Anna tidying up the living room, the intercom rang. Elsa answered it, and she immediately recognized the doorman's voice coming from the other side of the line.

Anna had stopped moving and waited for Elsa's call to end. Rapunzel too came from the kitchen drying the excess of water in her shirt and stood there expectantly.

Elsa thanked the doorman, put down the phone and looked back at the other two girls as she said, "They're here."

Anna dusted off her pants as she stood straight. "How do I look?" Rapunzel snorted and Anna threw her an annoyed glare before adding, "Hey! First impressions matter!"

"But you already met her," Rapunzel reminded the other girl.

Anna scowled sticking her tongue out. "Second impressions matter too!"

Elsa rolled her eyes. "You look fine, Anna," she said, to what her sister grinned satisfied.

"Should we go meet them?" Rapunzel asked.

Elsa shook her head. "No, they're coming here first, then we can help carry everything."

Rapunzel nodded.

Not much later, they heard voices coming from the hallway, and the doorbell rang. Anna rushed to open the door with a big, warm smile on her face. "Hi!" she said to the three people standing on the other side.

"Hi," Moana, a beautiful girl with long black hair said giving her a quick hug before going inside the apartment.

"Sorry we're late," the big, tattooed guy the girls knew as Maui, one of Eugene's friends, said. He pointed at the redhead girl behind him with contempt. "We had to wait for someone to wake up."

"Don't worry about it, we slept in ourselves." Elsa stood up from the couch and went to give her new roommate a hug. "Welcome to New Burgess," she said.

"Thanks," Moana replied before giving Rapunzel a hug as well.

"This is Merida," Maui said gesturing to the red-haired girl. "She said she didn't know you guys. She, Flynn and I go way back."

Pleasantries were exchanged, and Merida locked her eyes on the blonde girl with green eyes. "You're Flynn's girl."

Rapunzel blushed. "Well, I like to think of myself as more than that, but I suppose I am." Her smile widened a little. "Nice to finally meet you. Heard a lot about you from Eugene."

"All lies, I assure you," Merida scoffed.

"Oh, no." Rapunzel shook her head. "I can tell he really treasures your friendship from the way he talks about you guys."

Maui snorted throwing his head back. "Are you sure we're talking about the same guy?"

Merida nodded. "Yeah, our Flynn is an ass."

Rapunzel shrugged. "He's actually really sweet."

"If you say so," Maui said. Then, he turned to his cousin. "Didn't you have something to give them?"

"Right." Moana started rummaging inside her backpack. "I've got gifts for you." She pulled out three small boxes and gave one to each of the blonde girls.

"Aww." Anna beamed excited. "Can I open it?"

"Sure!"

Inside each of the boxes, there was an intricate bone and wood necklace. The girls had received elegant jewelry with different shapes and filigrees, each pendant expertly carved with smooth surfaces and clear colors.

"Just a small token of gratitude for letting me live here," Moana mumbled shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

"There was no need for that," Elsa said smiling at the younger girl. "But thank you for the gift nonetheless."

"They're beautiful," Anna added as the girls showed each other their new necklaces and Rapunzel hummed in agreement.

Moana sighed relieved. "I'm glad you liked it."

Maui clapped getting everyone's attention. "Now that that's out of the way, shall we go on with the moving in or what?"

Merida laced her fingers behind her neck. "Let's get this party started."

* * *

After taking a shower, Hiro could finally say he was human again.

Waking up after a night of drinking his weight in liquor had proven to be a nightmare that went on until the late morning, when he finally took action into his hands and dragged himself like a zombie from the suffocatingly warm bed to the painfully light bathroom.

Letting the warmth of the water relax his sore muscles and the soap wash away the stench of alcohol, he took his sweet time under the shower stream. He only let himself out of the showerbox when he no longer felt like a bunch of needles were pinching his skin. He wrapped a towel around his waist and checked himself in the mirror.

The dark bags under his eyes had lessened and his skin held a somewhat healthier color. Satisfied with his undead appearance, he left the bathroom just in time to hear his phone ringing.

He followed the sound searching for the device in the pile of dirty laundry on the floor. Crouching down, he picked up his phone from the jeans of the night before.

 _"Good morning, sir,"_ he heard an annoyingly cheerful male voice saying from the other side of the line. _"This is your friendly morning call checking whether you're alive or not."_ There was a pause for dramatic effect. _"So, are you alive or not?"_

Hiro rolled his eyes standing up. He put the phone on speaker and went to the drawers for a clean set of clothes. "What do you want, Frost?"

 _"Just being a caring friend, buddy. Hiccup was worried you'd be suffering from a strong case of hangover."_

Hiro grunted as finished buttoning his jeans and pulled a t-shirt over his head. "Hiccup would be right," he mumbled as he headed to the kitchen, phone in hands.

 _"You okay?"_

"I feel like I've been rescued from under the debriefs of a burning building," he said as he searched the pantry for the coffee powder.

 _"That's nice."_

"If you're done with your good deed call, I would like to hang up," he said as he put the coffee in its compartment and switched the 'on' button on the coffee maker.

 _"Aw, don't be like that, Hiro. We were worried about you."_

Hiro rolled his eyes. He tapped the counter as he waited for his beverage to be ready. "Despite what you like to think, this wasn't my first rodeo, Frost."

 _"Ah, they grow up so fast…"_ Jack mused and Hiro could feel the mocking smirk on the other guy's face. _"You stay away for a couple of months and they are all big and adventuring on their own before you know it."_

"ls that all? I really have better things to do than to keep listening to your voice."

 _"Hiccup asked if you wanted to come over. We're ordering food. Did you know that you can order breakfast takeout? What is this wonderful world we live in where people don't even have to fry their own bacon anymore and can still savor it while dressed only in their underpants?"_

"Revolutionary," Hiro mumbled with an eye roll. "But I'll pass. The nostalgia factor is over, and even if it wasn't, my current migraine is enough to keep me company for the time being."

 _"Take an aspirin and stop whining, you ungrateful brat."_ There was a pause and from the muffled sounds, Hiro figured the silverhead was exchanging some words with the other occupant of their apartment. Then, he continued, _"You know where we live if you change your mind."_

"You mean where Haddock lives and you parasitize," Hiro said with a snort.

 _"For a guy with such an adorable baby face, you really know how to not sound cute at all."_

"Like I even care."

The coffee maker's light went off signaling that his beverage was ready. He poured himself a mug of caffeinated heaven. "I'm hanging up," he said to the guy on the other side of the line.

 _"Well, I wish you a wonderful weekend nonetheless, sir. And Hiccup says he'll see you on Monday."_

"Goodbye, Frost."

 _"Make sure to put some carbs in your system, Hamada!"_

Hiro hung up before his friend could diverge topics again and keep holding him on the phone for who knows how long more...

He took a sip of his hot beverage and let the bitter taste of black coffee fill his mouth.

Remembering Jack's advice, he went to the fridge and ran his eyes through the shelves inspecting its content. He found a few cans of energy drinks, three yoghurt packages that were probably expired, a suspicious leftover styrofoam container that he dared not to open, mustard, two eggs and some cheese. He wondered how much of a hassle it would be to go grocery shopping in his state of half-debility…

Then, he gave up and picked his phone.

 _If Jack found breakfast food delivery astounding, he would have a full day when he discovered the perks of home-delivered online grocery shopping._

* * *

Moana's moving had been quite easy, what with Elsa's apartment being perfectly well-furnished already and the younger girl taking Anna's old room. Most of the things she had brought to New Burgess were items of personal use, like clothing, bedwear, toiletries and whatnots along with one or two bigger furniture items to remind her of home.

Within a couple of hours, everything had been brought to the apartment and the moving team spent the remaining hours of the morning/early afternoon lazing around in the girls' living room. The majority of the group had agreed that cooking would be too much of a hastle, so they decided to order food from the nice restaurant a few blocks down from there to have a nice, heartwarming lunch together.

Their food was due to arrive in less than half an hour, to the satisfaction of their growling stomachs.

"Eugene asked if we're still here," Rapunzel said after reading the text message she had just received.

"Is he coming?" Anna asked as she helped Elsa bring tableware to the area occupied by the rest of he group.

"Mmhmm…" Rapunzel mumbled typing her boyfriend a reply.

"Should we have ordered more food?" Elsa questioned in doubt.

Maui scoffed. "Why do you care about an imbecile like him, Elsa?" he asked with incredulity.

"Yeah," Merida agreed. "He didn't help with the moving, so he doesn't deserve eating the food."

"Didn't he have to go to work today?" Anna asked with a frown.

Maui shrugged. "Well, that's life. I, too, had plans today, and yet, here I am."

"Spending the morning staring at your muscles in the mirror doesn't qualify much as 'plans'," Moana stated using her fingers as quotation marks.

The guy threw a glare in her direction. "Watch your mouth, you little brat."

Moana stuck her tongue out mockingly.

Maui cleared his throat. "Anyway, he can buy his own damn food if he's hungry. No need to fuss about that."

Elsa tucked her hair behind her ear nibbling her lower lip in thought. "Well, I guess I can at least put together some appetizers from the pantry…"

"Let me help you, Elsa." Moana volunteered immediately standing up.

Anna smiled as the younger girl followed her sister to the kitchen and the two started discussing dish options. "Someone is eager to please…" she commented.

Maui scoffed. "Don't be fooled. She's still a thick-headed moron with no common sense."

"You're being mean," Rapunzel chastised with a scowl. "She's such a sweet girl."

"Yeah, let's see how long it takes for you to take those words back."

"Well, I like her." Anna crossed her arms nonchalant. "And I couldn't imagine anyone better to live with my sister."

Rapunzel nodded sharing a look of agreement with Anna. "It was a pretty good coincidence that there was someone looking for a place to live so near us." She looked back at Maui arching one eyebrow. "And what were the odds of her being a famous person on top of that?"

Maui snorted throwing his head back. "She's not famous, just a wannabe singer like a thousand others out there."

"She won the last edition of the Moon singing competition!" Anna protested shaking her head.

"Mere five minutes of fame."

"Stop acting like a jealous ass." Merida smacked the guy across his mane of hair. "You're just mad because the girl is not a kid and doesn't follow you around like a shadow anymore. And because you only have one song on your musical repertoire."

Maui glared at her, his eyes telling her that she would pay double for that later. "Screw you, Red." He noticed Rapunzel smirking and looking at him weirdly. "Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked narrowing his eyes.

"Like what?" The girl batted her eyelashes with innocence.

"Like you just figured out a big secret."

Rapunzel shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure you don't."

"Flynn is rubbing on you in more ways than one," Maui mumbled making the cousins blush.

Merida smacked him on the head again. "Watch your mouth, you rock troll! You're in the presence of ladies!"

Anna cleared her throat, her cheeks still pink of embarrassment. "I'd say Punz is a lot smug on her own."

"You're one to talk, Anna," Rapunzel remarked scowling at the other girl.

"I guess that's one reason they get along…" Merida commented with a laugh.

"Because they're both smug know-it-alls?" Anna asked wiggling her eyebrows, to which Merida nodded and Rapunzel rolled her eyes.

"Didn't that comment speak about you guys' personalities as well?" Rapunzel asked pointing at Maui and Merida. "You are pretty damn close friends."

"Yep." Maui nodded. "We're all birds of a feather."

Anna laughed. "If you two and Eugene are anything to go by, I'm sure my sister will be in good hands."

Rapunzel shared a long look with the other blonde. Eugene's crew was not much similar to Elsa. And by that, she meant that they were barely from the same species...

From what she could tell, things could go two very different ways: either her cousin would be driven crazy by the general mess and disorder caused by living with another person—because even if Moana was an organized person and all, she would still be 'natural disaster chaos' level in comparison to Elsa. Or the younger girl would be the perfect distraction to the loneliness Elsa probably felt for not having her baby sister living under her roof anymore.

 _Well, Rapunzel had always had a pretty positive way of thinking, so…_

"You know, I think the same way."

* * *

Hiccup had secluded himself in the quietude of his own room, reading some articles on smart houses and improvements in the development of an architecture that used technology to incorporate nature into its design.

The rather technical writing, though interesting and much inspiring, was demanding too much of his concentration and he found himself yawning after some time of reading.

He put his tablet down on the desk and got up stretching his back and neck muscles. Deciding to take a quick break to get the blood on his legs flowing, he left to the kitchen for a glass of water.

The lights were turned off, but he could hear the TV playing and the screen flickering colors across the room. He peeked from over the couch's backrest and had to hold his laughter at the sight he found there.

Jack was asleep, his mouth half-open and his arms thrown around Toothless, who raised his head sensing his owner and waggled his tail for attention. Toothless' big eyes and slightly tilted head made a funny contrast with the oblivious guy knocked out cold beside him.

The dog's heavy tail hitting his stomach made Jack grunt. He tried to stop Toothless from moving by throwing his weight over the dog, which only made the dog move more eagerly.

"Toothless…" Jack groaned curling his body away from the dog.

"Why aren't you sleeping in your own room, Frost?" Hiccup asked as he patted the dog's head.

"I wasn't planning on falling asleep," Jack protested blinking repeatedly to wake up.

Hiccup giggled placing his hands on the couch backrest to push himself up. "Must've been a pretty boring movie," he commented as he walked to the sink.

"We were watching Million Dollar Baby."

"... Why?" Hiccup asked from the kitchen.

"Because it's a classic and everyone should have a good movie repertoire." Jack suppressed a yawn with the back of his hand.

Hiccup tapped the faucet and filled the glass with water. "Toothless is a dog."

"I don't discriminate." A pause. "Maybe we should watch Jaws next. Think Toothless will like it?"

"Sure," the auburn-haired guy said with a nonchalant shrug. He chugged down his glass' content quickly. "Why wouldn't he?"

As he got no response after that, Hiccup took a look from over his shoulder and saw Jack sitting with his head against the couch and his face turned to the ceiling. His eyes were closed, his breathing was even, and his chest moved up and down in calm rhythm.

"Seriously, though," Hiccup said and the other guy snapped his eyes open with a startled jump. "Go to bed."

"I don't have a bed," Jack mumbled turning his eyes away from the kitchen. "Unless you're inviting me to yours."

"Sure, big spoon or small spoon?" Hiccup asked returning to the living room.

"Hm…"

"Dude. You can't even formulate an innuendo-filled comeback. Which should say something, considering that they are second nature to you." Hiccup shook his friend's shoulder and waited for the silverhead to look at him. "Sleep, Frost."

"It's not even ten."

Hiccup crossed his arms, a stern look on his face. "Be a good boy and go to your room already. You can even take Toothless with you to use as a hug pillow."

"Alright, mom," Jack grumbled pushing himself off the couch. "Let's go, buddy."

Hiccup watched as the other guy walked past him dragging his feet through the hallway, Toothless following closely behind.

"Goodnight!" Hiccup sang before Jack could reach his door.

"'Night, Hiccup."

* * *

It was already dark by the time they all left Elsa's—and now also Moana's—apartment. Eugene had arrived in the middle of their lunch and they spent the rest of the afternoon sharing funny stories about each other's adventures and misadventures. He had laughed so hard remembering challenges and bets that had undergone between Maui, Merida and him that he was pretty sure he had sprained a stomach muscle at some point.

He had also enjoyed listening to the unlucky encounters the three cousins had had since growing up together. If anything, those embarrassing moments shared between the group had made him even more fond of the woman walking right beside him at that exact moment.

He looked down at their hands and the corner of his lips turned upwards in a contained smile.

Rapunzel, having noticed him, eyed him with suspicion before asking, "What are you smiling at?"

Eugene shrugged. "Nothing. I was just thinking that I'm glad I came today."

She snorted. "Of course you'd think that way. You didn't do any of the heavy lifting."

"Sorry about that." Eugene pulled her closer and kissed her hair.

Rapunzel hummed. "I'll forgive you if you do the dishes for the next week."

"The whole week?" Eugene pouted like a child. "Come on, Blondie! I said I'm sorry! And I really tried to come sooner."

"Take it or leave it." Rapunzel shrugged nonchalantly. "And you might want to offer your laundry services while we're at it."

"You know I have two months worth of dirty clothes piled up in my room because I don't do laundry, right?"

Rapunzel scrunched her nose disgusted. "And that's why we hang at my place, not yours."

"Because you're a cleaning freak?" Eugene suggested with amusement.

"Watch it, Eugene." She pointed a finger at his face. "You're not one hundred percent on the clear yet."

"My apologies," he said holding his laugh. "Your cleaning habits are as of an ordinary person, Blondie."

The girl nodded satisfied. "Good. Also, we hang at my place because I actually have food in my kitchen." She looked at him with a frown. "All you have is protein powder and frozen chicken."

"Gotta keep the guns pumped." Eugene flexed his biceps to make a point.

She facepalmed shaking her head. "You're an idiot, Eugene."

He stopped on his tracks and looked at her with an arched eyebrow and lips pursed giving her his trademark smoulder. "But I'm your idiot."

Before she could throw a comeback at his cheesy line, though, he leaned down and placed his lips over hers. He kissed her slowly, delicately, and she sighed at the gentle gesture.

As they parted, she looked at him through her lashes. "You're my idiot," she whispered pulling him back for another kiss.

* * *

Elsa and Anna were sharing the couch sitting comfortably facing each other as they talked about Anna's fifth grade class, Wasabi's latest OCD crisis in the office, or whatever else one of the sisters could remember from the period they had been apart. They laughed, each girl holding their own own glass of wine and occasionally sipping from it.

Despite Anna's previous night drinking with their cousin, she had been the one to suggest they finish off the half bottle of wine left. Anna had claimed that a glass or two of the beverage was the best way to relax after a day of hard work, and Elsa found herself agreeing with her sister.

"How's Kristoff, by the way?" Elsa asked at some point. "I haven't seen you calling him once."

"He's fine," Anna replied with a shrug. "And I didn't call him because this is our precious sisters time together. He knows that."

"I bet he's worried sick about you."

"I texted him when I got to your office." Anna checked her nails nonchalant. "And I'll call him when I get on the train back home."

Home.

It suddenly struck Elsa that her and Anna's home was no longer the same. Although she was happy for her sister, for having been able to adjust to a new life—even finding love back home, she also felt a bit of sadness at the thought of Anna moving on without Elsa.

She played with the red liquid in her glass, twirling it around and watching as the stains disappeared.

"Earth to Elsa?" Anna called tilting her head. Her eyes conveyed her concern for her sister.

The platinum blonde jumped slightly at being brought back from her daydream. "Yeah?"

"You zoned out there, champ," the younger sister said with a smile. "Whatcha thinking about?"

Elsa shrugged trying to act casual. "About how fast things change. Rapunzel no longer requires my assistance at work; you've become a teacher well-loved by your students; you'll even be Mrs. Kristoff Bjorgman in a little more than a month!" Anna chuckled at that. "I guess I'm feeling old."

"Oh, come on, Elsa." The strawberry blonde woman rolled her eyes. "You are so not old enough for an identity crisis yet."

"You two are adults able to take care of yourselves on your own. None of you need my help to get back on your feet anymore."

"Bullshit!" Anna protested with a wide gesture of her hand. "I forget to pack my lunch at least three times a week, I had to buy new shirts because I don't know how to take chocolate stains off them, I almost killed my class pet because I forgot to feed it…" For each point she made, Anna held out a finger on her free hand. She raised her eyes to look at her sister. Her eyes were hard and serious. "And I know for a fact that Rapunzel still can't eat bell peppers."

Elsa chuckled taking a sip from her glass.

"We still need you, we just pretend that we don't because we don't want to make you worried," Anna pointed out. "And we will always look up to you, sis." She chugged down the remaining of her wine. "Even when we're eighty and our hair is all white and we have to eat porridge everyday because yummy food hurt our gums."

"Can't wait for that," Elsa mused resting her head against the couch backrest.

Anna mimicked the older sister so their eyes were on the same level. "Some things will never change, no matter what."

Elsa hummed closing her eyes, her little sister's words resonating in her ears as she tried to carve them into her brain and her heart.

Then, the sound of a pile of objects crashing onto the floor could be heard, and their heads shot up in startlement.

"What was that?" Anna asked looking in the direction of the noise—her old room.

"Moana?" Elsa called standing up. She pursed her lips in apprehension as she walked to the room in question. The new girl had been unpacking and the sisters had left her to set in on her own, but the loud crashing sound was too concerning to be ignored. "You okay in there?" she asked leaning against the doorframe and looking inside the room.

Moana jumped up from her position crouching down on the floor and looked guiltily at the blonde. "Yes! Everything is fine! I just dropped a few things when I was trying to put then in there…" She pointed at the tallest compartment of the closet.

"We have a ladder, you know," Anna commented leaning on her sister with an arm on Elsa's shoulder.

Moana rubbed her arm blushing shyly. "That would… make things easier, actually."

Anna smiled at the girl. "Let me go get it for you."

Moana sighed as the strawberry blonde disappeared and crouched down on the floor again. She started picking the scattered items and placing them on the bed.

Elsa walked inside the room and lifted a beautiful conch shell with both hands. She turned around inspecting all sides for cracks or broken pieces. Luckily, there was none. "Is this from your hometown?" Elsa asked as she handed it to its owner.

"It is." Moana nodded thanking the blonde. "My grandma gave me this so I'd have a piece of home with me. And so that I would always be reminded of who I am." She placed the shell on the nightstand and her fingers gently traced its surface, a fond expression forming on her face.

"She sounds like a lovely grandmother," Elsa said with a gentle smile.

Moana grinned at her. "She's the best."

"Here it is." Anna entered the room showing the ladder to the two other ladies.

Moana tried to protest as the two sisters motioned to set the ladder, but was interrupted by a wave of Anna's hand.

"Three girls work faster than one," Anna said.

"And you must be tired," Elsa added. "The sooner we're done, the sooner you can rest."

Anna was right, and as it turned out, the remaining work divided by three took no time to be taken care of. The girls looked satisfied at the organized room, and Moana thanked the sisters for what felt like the millionth time that day before they parted for the night.

In the corridor, Anna took her sister's hand and gave it a light squeeze. When Elsa looked at her with a puzzled question, Anna grinned a very Anna-like grin.

A grin of reassurance, sure, but mostly of excitement for the future and for what was to come next in that new chapter of their lives.

* * *

Jack had attempted to make them lunch on Sunday. A homey spaghetti and meatballs recipe that the silverhead claimed lacked seasoning, but was still delicious nonetheless. Hiccup had eagerly emptied his plate of pasta, giving his roommate a thumbs-up and an honest "you're gonna make a great wife someday" comment.

The look the silverhead had given him after that was one of incredulity as if he had just claimed to have a pet dragon hidden under his bed. Jack also made a point of insulting the auburn-haired guy's taste buds throughout the whole meal.

Dividing tasks as the married couple that they were, Hiccup had then cleaned up the table and proceed to wash the dishes as Jack played with Toothless in the living room.

Jack laughed as he gave the dog commands in exchange for treats. He could hear his auburn-haired friend humming some song in the kitchen when the doorbell rang.

"Can you get that?" Hiccup stopped his humming to ask.

The silverhead stood up and went to the front door. As soon as he opened it, something rushed past his legs and stormed inside the apartment. "Whoa." Jack looked over his shoulder to find a greyhound dog jumping up and down around his black canine friend. When he turned back to the doorframe, there was a small boy and a smaller girl standing there. "Uh… hi."

"Hi," the boy, a brunet with a too-sassy-for-his-size look on his yes said. "Who are you?"

"I'm Jack," the man said throwing his shoulders back. Narrowing his eyes at the little ones, he asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm Jamie, this is Sophie," the boy said pointing at the little blonde girl holding his other hand.

"And why exactly are you ringing my doorbell, Jamie and Sophie? Lemme guess: you selling cookies?"

Jamie frowned. "No. Where's Hiccup?"

At the sound of his name, Hiccup moved from the kitchen as he dried his hands on his apron. "Hey guys!" He smiled at the kids. "Come on in!"

Jack stepped to the side so their guest could enter the apartment, eyes silently questioning his roommate about the connection between the one-legged genius and the little humans.

"Where's your mom?" Hiccup asked picking Sophie up and letting her wrap her arms around his neck.

"Getting ready to go out," Jamie said going to the dogs and patting Toothless' head. The dog seemed pleased and, to Jack's surprise, not wary at all. Whoever those kids were, they seemed acquainted enough with the Haddock household.

"Third…" Jack called narrowing his eyes and looking from one kid to the other. "Who are the munchkins?"

"These are our neighbors"—Hiccup gestured with his head in the boy's direction—"Jamie and his little sister Sophie Bennett. I take care of them sometimes while their mom runs errands on the weekends." Hiccup tickled the girl in his arms making her giggle and pointed at the silverhead. "And that's my best friend Jack."

"Hmm…" Jack hummed closing the door and dropping himself on the couch. "So you're their sitter?"

"Yep. Pretty much." Hiccup smiled putting Sophie down. "You thirsty, Soph? I've got apple juice."

"Apple juice!" The girl hopped tugging on Hiccup's clothes.

"How about you two? Want some?" Hiccup asked heading to the kitchen along with the little girl.

Jamie nodded. "Yeah."

Somewhere inside, Jack felt like he should feel at least a little bit offended that Hiccup was addressed him the same way he did the ten years old kid. Yet again, he couldn't remember when the last time he drank apple juice was, and he couldn't let that opportunity pass. So he shrugged and answered with a "Sure."

"Hey, Jamie, why don't you teach Jack how to play some video games?" Hiccup asked, and from the excited voice tone Hiccup was using, Jack easily guessed that was his friend's attempt at making him bond with the kid.

"Alright." Jamie crouched on the carpet in front of the TV and grabbed a game console. "What you wanna play?" he asked looking at the silver-haired guy from over his shoulder.

"Anything but puzzle games," Jack mumbled going to sit beside the boy.

Jamie pursed his lips together in thought and gave Jack a spare console. "Do you like Hero's Duty?"

"I don't know what that is," Jack said. "But I trust your choice."

The boy nodded. Expertly pressing buttons and setting the game for two players. "It's easy. All you gotta do is kill all the enemies and get to the checkpoint."

"Mmhm…" Jack chose the character with an eyepatch and a cigar between his lips and waited for the rest of the directions, but the boy didn't say anything else. "Wait. You're not gonna explain how to play?"

"Just shoot the bad guys," Jamie said.

The game finished loading and the split screen showed two different views of a greenish steampunk scenery. Jamie's avatar immediately started moving and grunts of soldiers and the rat-a-tat-tat of guns being fired came from the sound system connected to the TV.

"How am I supposed to shoot?" Jack asked looking down at the alien console in his hands.

"You press B!"

"I am pressing B!"

"You have to load the gun first."

"And how do I—" Red flashed on Jack's side of the screen.

"…You died."

Jack narrowed his eyes at the boy. "You don't say."

"Hurry, you're respawning."

With a grunt, Jack turned back to the TV, his fingers moving randomly as he learned by trial and error (and error) each of the buttons' function. His screen flashed red twice more before he learned how to reload his gun.

By the time Hiccup returned with Sophie and the beverages, Jack was groaning as he smashed buttons blindly and his avatar got his ass kicked in combat.

"Who's winning?" Hiccup asked with amusement.

"Jack's not really good," Jamie said, his eyes not leaving the screen.

Jack snorted. "You haven't seen me trying yet, kiddo."

Hiccup sighed. "Jack. Do keep in mind that you're supposed to be a composed and mature adult."

Sophie slid from the couch and jumped over her brother trying to snatch the console from him. "Wanna play too!"

"No! Get off, Sophie!" Jamie grunted pushing the girl away. She fell on her knees and started sobbing, to the boy's utter annoyance.

Hiccup, acting fast, picked an unused console and put a pillow on his lap. "C'mere, Sophie. Let's play together."

Sophie rubbed her eyes as she dragged herself to sit on Hiccup's lap. The guy put his arms around the girl letting the console rest on her knees and she cautiously pressed one button. A shy smile formed on Sophie's lips as she grew more confident and pressed the buttons more aggressively.

Jack took his eyes off the game for a moment to watch his friend encouraging and praising the giggling girl sitting on his lap.

"You seem quite used to them, Third."

Hiccup leaned back on his hands. "They're a really likeable duo. A bit of a trouble sometimes, but they're good kids."

"It suits you."

Hiccup frowned confused and turned to stare at the silverhead. "What does?"

Jack shrugged, his eyes focusing back on the screen, tongue sticking out in concentration as he pressed a sequence of buttons that finally made Jamie groan in annoyance.

Flashing a smug grin, the silverhead said, "Take that, you little twerp."

* * *

Sophie had quickly lost interest in the game the boys were playing and spent the next hour alternating between putting hair clips on Hiccup's hair and drawing on his face.

"So how do you think I should tell a girl that I like her?" Hiccup asked as he brushed the hair of Sophie's doll.

"You talking to me?" Jack asked with his eyes still glued to the game he and his new little friend were playing.

"No, I'm talking to Jamie."

"Well, Third—" Jack turned to look at the auburn-haired guy, but was surprised at the serious frown Hiccup had on his face instead of the mocking expression Jack expected to find. "Oh, you really are talking to Jamie."

Jamie sat up at the sound of his name. "You could give her your lunch candy," he said with a shrug. "That's what Caleb did."

Jack snorted throwing a knowing look at Hiccup's direction. "You can give her your candy alright."

Hiccup narrowed his eyes disapprovingly and threw a pillow at the silverhead. "Watch it, Frost. You're in the presence of very impressionable children."

Jack laughed. "I have no idea what you could possibly mean, Third. I'm talking about hard candy. Like lollipops and stuff."

"Please, stop talking." Hiccup sighed. "What other suggestion do you have?"

Jamie shrugged. "I don't know. Don't girls like flowers?"

"Not his girl," Jack mumbled.

Jamie stuck out his tongue and frowned as he thought about the problem. Half of his attention remained on the television and the match between him and Jack. "How about a game? Games are fun. And there could be prize at the end."

Hiccup's eyes widened in interest and he moved to stare at the back of Jamie's head. "I'm listening."

"You could do a scavengers hunt or something with clues. So you're telling her that you like her, but she has to, like, figure it out. And the prize can be something that she really likes. Mom likes wine and stinky candles…"

Hiccup snapped his fingers. "Jamie! You're a genius!"

Jack too seemed impressed as he stared at the boy with wide-open eyes. "How old are you again?"

Jamie shrugged. "Ten."

"Hm." Jack threw his shoulders back. "Wish I was as smart as you when I was ten."

"Hoo, boy. This is gonna be great!" Hiccup rubbed his hands together grinning excitedly. "Soph, wanna draw with me?"

"Yeah!"

Hiccup went to the cabinet and pulled out some sheets of paper and the coloring kit he had there to entertain the Bennett kids. He put everything on the coffee table and sat next to Sophie.

"Okay, young lady." He placed both his hands on the table and looked at the little girl with all seriousness he could muster. "How are we tackling this?"

* * *

Before Anna even opened the door, she could already sense the smell of his cooking coming from the kitchen. With a warm smile, she entered the house.

"I'm home!" she sang dropping the keys on the bowl by the entrance cabinet.

"Hey, you," Kristoff said poking his head out of the kitchen door frame. "I told you to call me so I could pick you up."

Anna shrugged dropping her bag on the couch and walking to the kitchen. "I don't mind taking the bus."

Kristoff was on the stove stirring something on a pot and the sight of the man she loved filled her heart with joy. After some rather horrible experiences in the romance department, being able to come home and share such a lovely moment with someone she adored so much made her feel like floating in the clouds.

She wrapped her arms around his torso and buried her face on his shirt taking in the familiar scent of soap and smoke.

"What's this for?" Kristoff asked placing a warm hand over one of hers.

"I missed you," Anna mumbled, her voice muffled.

Kristoff chuckled turning around and pulling her into a tight hug. His arms went around her shoulders trapping her small frame against his chest. "I missed you too," he said on her ear, then leaned back to plant a kiss on her lips. "Dinner is almost ready. Can you set the table?"

Anna hummed affirmatively going to the cabinet and taking out plates and glasses for the both of them. "Watcha making?" she asked.

"Chicken piccata," he replied.

"Smells good."

"Thank you," Kristoff said with a chuckle. "There's also chocolate ice cream in the freezer."

Anna moaned. "I love you."

"Well, that's reassuring since, you know, we're supposed to get married next month."

She stuck her tongue out at him before returning to the task of organizing the tableware.

"So how was your weekend?" he asked.

"Pretty fun. I may have drunk too much," she admitted.

"Wild night in the big city, huh?" Kristoff asked with an amused chuckle.

She went to the fridge and took out the water jug. "Something like that."

"How was everyone?" he asked.

"Busy…" Anna mumbled sitting down and pouring a glass for her and another one for him. "Which reminds me, Wasabi, the guy who works with my sister, is not coming to the wedding."

"Why not?"

"Some kind of work emergency. He switched places with Elsa so she could come instead." she twirled the transparent liquid inside her glass absentmindedly.

He turned off the fire and gestured for the woman to bring him the plates. "Hm. I was looking forward to meeting him," he said placing a portion of chicken and roasted vegetables on each of the plates Anna held for him.

"Yeah…" The strawberry blonde shook her head ridding herself of the sadness. "But I'm sure we'll have plenty of other chances to hang out with everyone after the wedding, so it's not that bad."

Kristoff took the dinner dishes and brought them to the table. "Well, we _are_ gonna be stuck together for a very long time."

She smirked as she took her seat, wiggling her eyebrows playfully. "Don't you mean _forever_?"

He laughed taking her hand and squeezing it. "You're right," he said.

"Together forever."

* * *

Jack held held his chin on his hand as he picked up one of the many pieces of paper from the coffee table. It was scribbled with Hiccup's narrow handwriting, a few words scratched off, others underlined. The one he held in particular was titled 'first date' and contained some key information, like date, location, food and the word 'sunset' underlined several times.

He sighed dropping the paper and rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Your cheesiness knows no limits, Third," he told his friend.

"Are you gonna help me or not?" Hiccup asked with a grunt.

The guy had been working on that treasure hunt for hours, long past the time Jamie and Sophie's mom had picked them up. Hiccup had printed out a large map of the city and laid it on the floor. He stuck post-it notes on specific locations and connected everything with lines of tape.

"Are you sure Astrid is capable of solving these riddles?" Jack picked up another piece of paper. "Like, can she even remember what the first meal you cooked together was? Or that she slapped you with a spatula on that day?"

Hiccup froze with his pen held in the air as he gave his question some thought.

Jack could see anxiety and uncertainty creeping up on his friend like an evil shadow trying to swallow him bit by bit. "Forget that," he said with a shrug. "Even if she doesn't remember all the details of your love story, she will still try every possible option until she figures out the right answers, because Hofferson is the kind of person that hates losing."

"I sure hope so," Hiccup mumbled still a little shaken. "This whole thing depends on her not throwing in the towel."

Jack patted the other guy on the shoulder. "Your girlfriend is the most competitive person I've ever met. She'll buy your little game and all you have to do is tease her whenever she looks fed up. Like, tell her you knew she wouldn't be able to solve it, and she'll keep going just to prove you wrong."

Hiccup chuckled nodding in agreement, because that sounded too much like Astrid, and his concerns felt less and less relevant the more he took Jack's point into consideration. "Thanks, Frost."

The sound of keys turning on the front door interrupted their conversation before Jack could reply. "Is that Astrid?" he asked alarmed.

The two of them immediately started collecting the pieces of paper and drawing supplies.

"Or my dad," Hiccup mumbled.

The silverhead groaned unsure of which option he'd rather face. Even if it was Stoick Haddock at the door, unwanted questions would still be asked leading to some awkward moments trapped between father and son. And Astrid, for obvious reasons, could not know about the hunt. Either way, all evidence would still need to be hidden from whoever was at the door.

The door opened with a creak and before he could even see who it was, Toothless was already running to greet their guest. Jack jumped on the couch hiding a pile of crumpled up paper under a pillow as a female voice gushed over the dog.

Astrid walked inside the apartment and closed the front door behind her. "What are you two doing?" she asked at the sight of Jack lying on the couch casually smiling at her with his head held by one of his hands and Hiccup standing in the middle of the room holding a bunch of crayons and pencils like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Just tidying up the place," Hiccup said throwing the items in his hands inside the cabinet rather forcefully. "The Bennett kids were here just now."

"That so?" Astrid continued standing in the entrance with her arms crossed. "I'm guessing you're not ready to go yet."

Hiccup stared at her in confusion, then he seemed to understand what she was talking about and he groaned slapping himself on the forehead. "Shit. Totally forgot." He headed to his room and shouted from the corridor, "Just give me a minute!"

"I figured you would be coming too," the girl said looking back at Jack, who continued lying sprawled on the couch.

"Coming where?"

"You know Snotlout, right?"

"Yeah, I did have the pleasure of meeting him," Jack mumbled, his mind wandering back to his school days, when he had met Hiccup's boisterous and harebrained stellar cousin. "Awesome guy."

Astrid threw her shoulders back. "Well, that awesome guy is throwing dinner at his place tonight."

Jack looked at her with arched eyebrows. "Fancy."

She snorted. "Don't be fooled. It's probably gonna be cheap beers and hot dogs grilled on his backyard."

Hiccup rushed back into the room wearing a clean, yet wrinkled, shirt as he tried to smooth his hair with his fingers.

"I'm ready!" he announced. "Wanna come, Jack?"

"Sure." Jack shrugged as he stood up. "Haven't seen Snottikins in a while."

Hiccup laughed wholeheartedly. "Trust me, you haven't missed a thing."

* * *

They could hear metal blasting from the speakers and loud chatting before they even got to the house. The gate that lead to the backyard was open, so Hiccup, Astrid and Jack unceremoniously let themselves in.

As soon as they slid through the gate, though, the guttural laugh of Snotlout echoed over the music as if he had been waiting for them to show up.

"Hey, look!" Snotlout walked in their direction, bottle of beer in one hand and the other pointing at Jack's face. "Hiccup brought his girlfriend _and_ his boyfriend!"

"Good to see that you haven't changed, Jorgenson." Jack's tone was cordial as he shook Snotlout's hand.

"Welcome to my domain, Jackie-boo," Snotlout said patting a heavy hand on his shoulder. "Can I offer you an ice cold beer?"

"You sure can, Snottikins."

Astrid chose to leave the guys for the group sitting on beach chairs or sprawled on sheets stretched out on the grass, and Snotlout led the other two to the cooler near the food table.

"What about you, Hiccup?"

"Nah, I'm driving tonight," Hiccup said shoving his hands inside his jeans pockets.

Snotlout stared at him. "Why the fuck are you driving?"

Hiccup shrugged because he didn't really have an answer for that.

"Your loss," Snotlout mumbled as he pulled out a beer bottle and opened it with a satisfying pop. He handed the silver-haired guy the beer and mockingly offered Hiccup a can of cherry soda. They clinked their drinks together before Snotlout excused himself to go back to the meat grilling, leaving the guests to explore the food options available on their own.

"Hiccup!" a female voice called, and Hiccup smiled as he saw Heather waving at him from a beach chair. "Aren't you gonna introduce your friend?" Heather asked and the intense gaze she directed at his friend gave him the impression that she had had plenty to drink already.

Hiccup motioned with his head for Jack to follow him and Jack shoved a handful of chips inside his mouth before going after him.

"Everyone, this is my best friend, Jack Frost," Hiccup said tapping the silverhead on the shoulder. "Jack, meet everyone." Hiccup introduced the people in the circle, each giving some sort of acknowledgement—a smile, a nod, or a handwave—in response. "... and the Thorston twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut."

"Sup?" Ruff said with an awfully ill-mannered nod.

Tuff, in return, made a grandiose hand flourish and lowered his head in a bow. "An honour to meet you, Mr. Frost."

"Likewise." Jack raised his beer at the guy with his trademark charming smirk, then brought the bottle rim to his lips and took a lazy sip.

"So…" Hiccup pulled a chair to sit next to his girlfriend. "What's the topic of the moment?"

"Babies," Ruff said dryly and spat on the floor.

Hiccup looked around for more information, and Fishlegs helpfully responded to his silent plea. "You remember Fiona?" he asked.

Hiccup nodded.

"She's pregnant again," Fishlegs continued.

"Okay…" Hiccup looked at Ruff again. "And what's the connection with Ruff's… lovelier than usual behavior?"

"She was a fucking legend!" Ruff shouted waving her arms widely.

"Ruffnut!" Heather cried at having beer spilled all over her blouse.

Ruffnut muttered an apology before continuing, "The woman was a fucking warrior and now she's reduced to a walking baby printer."

Her brother rolled his eyes. "You're just jealous, butt-elf, because motherhood is nothing more than a distant dream to you."

Ruff snapped her head around to glare at him, her face turning red with rising anger. "Speak for yourself! When in my whole goddamn life have I insinuated that I want a fucking human being regurgitated from my vagina?"

"That's… _awful_ ," Jack mumbled before chugging down half of his beer in one breath. That conversation was demanding his drunkenness. _And fast._

"And not entirely accurate… biologically speaking." Fishlegs added quietly.

"I'm a strong, independent woman working her ass off for a career in a fucking sexist enough world as it is. I don't need my dumbass brother pointing out how I _so desperately need_ my eggs fertilized to feel more like a woman!" She poked her brother's chest several times with her index finger. "And you will stop vomiting that undermining patriarchy shit if you know what's good for you!" Ruff's voice had grown high-pitched at each word, and by the time she was done, she was panting heavily, forehead sweaty and teeth clenched together as she looked around the circle daring anyone to utter another word.

"Ruff's right," Astrid said calmly. She looked at the male Thorston and narrowed her eyes making him sink on his chair. "Very aggressive, sure, but she's got a point. A woman wants to grow an entire football team inside her uterus, that's her choice. But you don't assume she is less accomplished or less feminine because she doesn't have kids."

Heather nodded. "Take notes, boys. How to _not be a misogynous jerk 101_."

Jack leaned back on his seat and let out a heavy huff of air. He dared a look around at his companions and saw that the rest of the guys had their heads down in a mixture of shame, guilt and fear. At his right, Hiccup sat leaning over with his elbows on his thighs and soda can tightly held with both hands. He wiggled his prosthetic leg up and down—a habit Jack new all too well as a sign of his friend's anxiety.

Normally, it was up to Jack (and Toothless) to calm him down. That time, though, Jack figured there wasn't much he could do to help.

The reality check slap in the face stung, and Hiccup took a lot of damage from the hit, having heard the words coming out of his own girlfriend's mouth. And that was a situation Jack couldn't downplay with a nonchalant attitude and a witty comeback. Jack being the smooth guy that he was, couldn't see an elegant way out of the situation, and he didn't expect the others to do anything either…

He was losing hope of getting off the night unharmed when the Higher Powers, taking pity of him, intervened.

Then came the sharp sound of clapping and the clearing of a throat.

"Uh, attention, everyone," Snotlout unexpectedly shouted catching the group's attention. "I'm happy to announce that the five stars high-quality meat provided by yours truly is done and it has been cooked to perfection." He stood smugly with his arms open and Dagur and Eret could be seen rolling their eyes behind their host. "Prepare yourselves to savour the delicacies worthy of the Gods and begin praising the amazing grilling skills of the great Snotlout! Snotlout! Oy! Oy! Oy!"

"Great." Ruffnut was the first to stand up. the closed off expression was enough of of a sign that she was still in a bad mood. "I'm starving."

Slowly, their group dispersed at the prospect of food and less-awkward airs. Jack watched as the others got on their feet and ran a hand through his hair still feeling a little dumbstruck. He couldn't believe the events' timing and let out a dry laugh of amusement.

"You coming, Frost?" Hiccup called looking at him from over his shoulder.

Jack nodded. "Right behind you."

They made their way to the food table, where people had already started nibbling at the food.

Snotlout stared at them with his head held high, as cocky as ever. Unaware of the heavy atmosphere, the guy had gotten everyone else out of an impossible situation just by acting like his normal idiotic self.

… And it was then that Jack realized that no matter what a pain Snotlout was for the rest of the night, they owed him one.

They owed Snotlout Jorgenson one for saving their sorry asses.

They owed the King of Idiots, Snotlout Jorgenson one for saving their sorry asses.

They owed the King of Idiots, Snotlout 'I think with my muscles' Jorgenson one for saving their sorry asses.

 _… God fucking bless the guy and his dumb obliviousness._

* * *

 **Happy 2019, you nerds.**

 **Writing this story is kind of a pain because of the different side storied going on at the same time. And there are too many different crews that need screen time.**

 **I have introduced almost all the relevant characters now, so I'll make a chart or something with names and movies of origin on my profile page.**

 **Also, Moana and Elsa became a crackship at some point in the Disney community. I have no idea what came out of that.**

 **Now to the game!**

 **1\. Guests appearances in the publisher so far: 5**

 **2\. Characters Jack bedded so far: 4**

 **3\. Jack's embarrassing moments so far: A BIG FAT ZERO**


	4. Chapter 4

In Hiccup's opinion, he spent way less time with his girlfriend than he'd consider acceptable. The woman was a workaholic that ate—well, sure she literally ate it since she was a chef working in a professional kitchen—, breathed and slept her job. Even when she wasn't at the restaurant during food prep or serving hours, she could still be found in her own kitchen testing out recipes and studying new combinations.

On her free time, Astrid liked to go to the gym, and she followed her workout sessions religiously.

Now, Hiccup tried to keep a wide range of interests (horoscope, AI applications, dog training…), but exercises were not one of them. If there was anything he was not, it was a gym person. So it wasn't really an option to hang out with her there.

And, sure, Hiccup was conscious enough to own his share of the fault for their limited time together. He was just as obsessed with his work as she was with hers: he had lost count of the nights he had spent burning the midnight oil in the workshop with Hiro, his last real vacation was probably taken when he still worked at Robinson Industries, and he was pretty sure he wouldn't leave his room nearly as much if it wasn't for Toothless and his canine needs.

So they were both busy people.

Which meant that Hiccup valued all the moments they had together—as insignificant as they seemed on the surface.

With that mindset on, he strolled back to his apartment Monday morning with a light bounce on his steps and a goofy smile on his face at the memory of spending the previous night at his girlfriend's place. In his opinion, there was no simplest nor purest act as the act of cuddling. And he was a damn good cuddler if he did say so himself.

He was on the clouds, and he was pretty sure he looked silly to any bystander, but he just couldn't help feeling good. But even on his happiness-induced inebriated state, he quickly noticed something was wrong as he slid his front door open.

First, Toothless didn't come running to greet him. Second, the sound system was on, and someone was humming along with the music. Third, he could smell a sweet scent in the air.

Fourth… there was a semi-naked guy waltzing around his kitchen while mixing a bowl of what he assumed was the source of the vanilla smell that spread through his apartment.

In his state of shock, Hiccup found himself unable to move his eyes away from that… very unexpected… sight. He patted blindly behind him jaw-dropped and wide-eyed and somehow managed to close the door.

The sound must've alerted his...guest, as he turned his head around and smiled as his eyes met Hiccup's.

"Morning, H!" Tuffnut Thorston cheerfully greeted waving a wooden spoon over the bowl he carried like a precious baby.

Hiccup shook himself blinking rapidly. "H—hi... Hi, Tuff," he stuttered.

"Would you like some pancakes?" Tuffnut asked. "I made them as nana Thorston taught me… with extra butter… and extra love."

Hiccup's brain still presented difficulties processing words. "I'm good," he said blankly.

"Huh." Tuff turned back to the frying pan and flipped a perfectly golden pancake in the air. "I always knew you were a waffles guy."

"If you don't mind, Tuff. I would like to have a quick word with my roommate. Is he in his room?"

"Yeah, and while you're there, can you tell him to hurry? There's nothing worse in the world than soggy pancakes."

Hiccup nodded rushing past the kitchen with his head facing down as to avoid making eye contact with the other guy. In the corner of his vision, he spotted Toothless, who seemed too busy with his own breakfast to pay his master much attention.

He burst the door open and unceremoniously stormed inside Jack's room startling the silverhead and making him jump.

"What the hell?" Jack glared at Hiccup for the sudden awakening.

"Tuffnut?" Hiccup spat shutting the door for some privacy. "You slept with Tuffnut?"

With a sigh, Jack let himself fall back on his bed and curled around his pillow. "My, Hiccup. Don't be so close-minded."

"I—I'm not." Hiccup took a step back. "This isn't about him being a guy!" He protested shaking his head negatively. "It's about him being Tuff!"

Jack glimpsed at him from behind the pillow. "What's the big deal?"

Hiccup crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "The big deal is that I actually know Tuffnut."

"So what?" Jack sat up rubbing his eyes. "I know Astrid and you have sex with her all the time."

"She's my girlfriend!"

Jack shrugged unimpressed.

"For God's sake, Frost." Hiccup groaned pressing a hand to his face. "I come home thinking that all is right with the world just to find one of the twins making pancakes naked in my kitchen."

"Aw, isn't that thoughtful of him?" Jack asked with an amused smirk.

"Not the point," Hiccup hissed. "Don't you see how weird it is, Jack?"

Jack stood up and scanned the floor for his pants.

Hiccup looked away, his breathing carefully even. "Unlike the girls you bring most nights, Tuff and I are friends. How am I supposed to look him in the eyes knowing that you two were doing the horizontal tango right under my roof!"

Jack pulled up a pair of jeans up to his waist and buttoned it hastily. "Oh, get over yourself, Third. You weren't even here." He laughed dryly throwing his head back before locking eyes with the other guy. "You wanna be all awkward about it? That's on you. As for me, I'm going to help myself to a huge pile of pancakes, then I'm gonna take a nice, hot shower to freshen up myself, then I'm gonna take Toothless for a walk in the park, and on my way back, I'm gonna buy more milk, because ours expired." Jack bumped Hiccup on the shoulder as he walked to the door. " And you… Don't you have a multi-millionaire business to run or something?"

"We're not done," Hiccup said through clenched teeth and his back to the silverhead.

Jack stared down at the hand that gripped the doorknob. "You're letting me live with you, and I'm sorry if you feel like I disrespected you or whatever. But let it go, Hiccup."

"You're not sleeping with people I'm acquainted with in my own fucking apartment, dumbass." Hiccup slowly turned on his heels with his arms crossed over his chest. "And as long as you're not breaking any public indecency law, you can do it behind a garbage container for what I care. Just not here."

Jack too turned around to face the other guy.

"I'm asking this as your roommate," Hiccup said. "And as the guy who's known you since your angsty phase."

After a pause, Jack slumped his shoulders back in defeat. "Alright."

Hiccup nodded. "Good."

Jack scratched the hair at the back of his head. "Does this mean we made up?"

Hiccup snorted uncrossing his arms and letting them fall. "Yeah."

"So… define 'acquainted'," Jack said they left his room and he threw his arms around Hiccup's shoulders. "I can still hit on the grocery store's cute new cashier, right?"

Hiccup shoved him away with a half-annoyed grunt and headed to the kitchen.

"Wait—" Jack went after him, a smirk on his lips. "I'm serious, Third!"

* * *

Anna made the last few steps on the staircase as she fought with a stubborn strand of hair that had slipped from the bun she had tied at the back of her head.

"Morning," she mumbled with a bobby pin held between her lips as she entered the kitchen.

"Morning," Kristoff replied with a smile before leaning down to give her a quick kiss. "How did you sleep?"

"Good. You?" Anna moved to the fridge, and Kristoff returned to slicing cucumbers on the cutting board. She leaned on the fridge door humming to herself as she looked through the shelves.

"Better now that you're back. Bed feels weird without you stealing all the sheets."

Anna pouted indignantly. "Look at my size! How can I steal anything from a brick wall like you?!"

Kristoff laughed throwing his shoulders back. "You know, I ask myself that same question every night."

Anna complained incomprehensibly as she pulled out a carton of milk and a jug of orange juice and closed the fridge door with her hip. She brought both items to the table, then went back to get the cereal box and the utensils.

"Maybe someday I'll set up a camera so I have irrefutable proof of what a little scoundrel you are."

"What if you get a ghost on camera instead?" Anna asked wiggling her eyebrows. She sat down on the table and started pouring herself a bowl of cereal.

Kristoff rolled his eyes. "Ghosts aren't real."

"You didn't think that way when we had that raccoon hiding in the attic."

Kristoff stomped to the table and moved a Tupperware container in front of Anna's face. "This is a delicious chicken Waldorf sandwich. And you can have it for lunch today if you stop talking about this right now."

Anna eyed the plastic container like a predator that watched its prey and wiped the drool that had threatened to drip from her mouth. She nodded pressing her lips together to keep from saying something she'd regret.

"Here you go." He put the item down on her side of the table and took his seat across from her.

"Thanks," she mumbled protectively pulling the acquired lunch closer within reach. She munched another spoonful of cereal watching as her fiancé prepared his own bowl of the food. "Speaking of delicious food, we have to confirm the reception menu with the catering service."

Kristoff groaned. "See, that's just ridiculous." He pointed his spoon in Anna's direction. "I own a food business. Why do I have to pay someone to cook for me?"

"Well," Anna said with a nonchalant shrug. "Your food is the best, but we can't really have the groom flipping burgers on a grill the whole night, can we? You'd get grease on your tuxedo."

The guy pouted filling the inside of his mouth with cereal. "Why can't we get married in a barn like my parents?"

Anna laughed at the absurdity of his proposition. "My sister would flip if she heard you saying that."

"Think about it," he tried to persuade her. "All the bridal party can walk down the aisle riding ponies. Or reindeers. I'm sure we can find a deer master somewhere."

She stared at him, mouth half-open in astonishment. "I am not riding a deer on my wedding day."

Kristoff shrugged. "Just an innocent suggestion."

"I'm supposed to look the most beautiful I ever looked in my whole life," Anna continued with a bit of annoyance. "How am going to do that with my ass sliding off a stinky quadruped's back?"

"Honey, even with bed hair and chocolate stains on your clothes, you're already the most beautiful woman in the world." He winked at her, and she could feel the heat rising to her cheeks. "You can walk down the aisle wearing a potato sack and you would still look amazing."

"Aww." Anna beamed as she leaned over the table and rested a hand on his cheek fondly. "That was so sweet."

Kristoff put his hand over hers and kissed her knuckles. "I'm an honest man who also happens to be in love."

The goofy grin he had on his face made her laugh loud and carefree. "Yeah, but don't underestimate my dress, mister." She pulled her hand back and returned her attention to her breakfast. "I'm totally gonna sweep you off your feet."

He chuckled shaking his head. What the girl seemed to have forgotten was that she already did just that every single day they were together.

"Can't wait for that."

* * *

Astrid walked inside the Te Fiti gym early in the morning to find her usual working out mates gathered together in the weight-lifting area. Flynn did bench presses while Merida acted as his spotter.

"Morning, weirdos," the blonde said as she put her water bottle on the floor and started some light stretching movements.

"Hey, Hofferson," Merida greeted her with a wink.

Eugene huffed, his face red due to the effort of continuously lifting and lowering the weight over his chest. "Morning."

"How was the moving?" Astrid asked as she looked through a set of dumbbells.

"Alright," Merida said with a shrug. She threw a hard glare at the guy lying on the bench. "Except the fact that Flynn lied and fucking ditched us."

"Technically, I didn't ditch you—" Eugene said between pants.

"Yeah, you showed up just in time to eat and drink like the useless pig you are!"

"—and I never said I was helping with the moving, so no lies either."

"I am so ripping that goatee off your face, asshole," Merida growled tapping one side of the weight, making the guy lose balance.

"Watch it, DunBroch!" he chastised as his arms trembled, and she helped him put the weight back on its holder.

Astrid started her session of biceps exercises but continued paying partial attention to the duo on the bench. "So what, you showed up just for the afterparty?"

"Yes," Merida replied at the same time as Eugene answered with a "No."

Merida threw her arms in the air and gave him a 'seriously?' look.

He shrugged crossing his arms. "Okay, fine, maybe I did. But I was working."

The redhead poked him in the chest with her index finger accusatory. "You guilt-tripped me into waking up at nine in the fucking morning because 'oh, Merida is such a frigid bitch who only thinks about herself, there's no way in hell she'd use her time and energy for a cause that doesn't benefit her in any way'." She poked him again. "And." Poke. "You." Poke. "Didn't. Even. Show. Up!" Each word was marked with a hurtful jab in his chest.

"Stop it, you psycho!" Eugene flinched away from her protecting his injured area with both arms.

"Fuckface," Merida mumbled.

"Yeah, Red's got a point," Astrid commented making the other two turn to look at her. "You were a dick."

Eugene groaned. "I am sorry, Merida." He glared at the ginger. "Is that what you wanted to hear? That I'm sorry I tricked you, and that I wasn't there to help with the hard work, and that it was such an awful experience to you?"

Merida scowled taking a step back. "It wasn't...awful," she protested. "But that's not the point!" She narrowed her eyes. "What else?"

"What… else?" Eugene repeated confused. The redhead kept staring at him without moving a single muscle. "... I love you?"

Merida snorted losing her composure. She threw her shoulders back shaking her head. "Try again, pretty boy."

Eugene nibbled at his inner cheek as he tried to come up with something that would please his angered friend. With a defeated sigh, he said, "And I'll treat you to that all-you-can-eat meat buffet after I get my next paycheck."

She threw a satisfied smirk at him. "That's more like it." She held her hand out and he shook it.

At that point, Maui walked past them clapping loudly. "Aw, you guys made up," he said pointing at Merida and Eugene's enclasped hands, then gave Astrid a thumbs-up. "Good job, Astrid."

"I didn't do anything," the blonde said making Maui stop on his tracks and turn on his heels.

"You telling me," he started carefully, "that those two talked—"

"We did," Merida cut him.

"—And Red realized that she was overreacting—"

"Was not," Merida intervened.

"Was, too," Eugene followed up after her.

"—And Flynn probably apologized to Red," Maui continued, a bit of irritation rising to his features at constantly being interrupted.

"I did," Eugene said smugly.

Astrid nodded. "He did."

"And you had nothing to do with it?"

"Nope. They worked things out on their own."

"Are wonders ever gonna cease?" Maui rubbed his chin in astonishment before turning on his feet to go back to his other work functions. "Maybe the pool will part when I walk down there for the next hydrogymnastics class." He stopped in the middle of the room spreading his arms wide open. "Who knows?" He grabbed the closest person to him and shook him by the shoulders. "Anything can happen, am I right?"

The tiny man trapped in Maui's arm gave a weak shriek before the gym instructor let go of him and continued down to the drinking fountain still mumbling nonsensically to himself.

"I think you just broke Maui," Astrid commented with the other two.

Merida crossed her arms. "I'm surrounded by idiots."

Eugene winked at her. "Took the words right out of my mouth, sister."

"Ew." Merida shoved him to the side with an elbow to the stomach. "Don't get too buddy-buddy with me now just because we're friends again, douchebag. Astrid!"

The blonde looked up in question.

"Dance with me."

The blonde easily understand what the other woman meant. "Alright," Astrid said as she put the weights back on their places.

"What, you ditching me for Hofferson?" Eugene asked with a pout.

"You can ref."

"Oh, fun!" he exclaimed with sarcasm.

"Cheer up, Flynn." Merida threw one arm around the guy's shoulders as the three of them headed to the boxing ring. "You getting a first seat to watch me kick Astrid's butt."

Astrid laughed crossing her arms. "World is not that off its axis, Red."

"Show me what you've got, Hofferson." Merida winked at her as she held the ring ropes apart for the others to enter.

"Just don't come crying later."

"Ladies," Eugene called pressing two fingers to his temple. "Less talking, more bitchslapping. If I'm playing referee, the least you could do is give me a good brawl fight."

The girls looked at each other and rolled their eyes together.

"Shut up, Eugene."

"Yeah, try not to get in our way."

* * *

Elsa stared suspiciously at the package she had just collected from Mavis at the front desk. The item that had been sent to the publisher was big and heavy on her hands. She kept reading the name of the sender over and over all the way to her desk as if that could magically change the letters written on the label.

As she passed through the lounge area, Elsa could hear the very familiar sound of her friends talking.

"I'm telling you, they're the best beignets in the whole city," Wasabi told Belle as they stood near his desk, each holding their own mugs of very hot beverages.

"My, I must try them one of these days," Belle said with a chuckle.

"Trust me, girl. You will not regret it."

"Morning, you two," Elsa greeted them placing the delivery box on her desk and received polite greetings in return.

"What's in the package?" Wasabi asked with curiosity.

"I have no idea," Elsa mumbled scavenging through her drawer for the cutter.

The other two editors watched as the platinum blonde woman cut the seams and opened the cardboard box. As Elsa saw its content, her eyes widened and she let out an uncharacteristically annoyed hiss.

"What is it?" Belle asked intrigued.

Elsa groaned as she pulled out a thick novel from the box.

"A book?" Wasabi laughed with contempt. "Why did you get a—" he suddenly stopped as he finally read the writer's name. "Oh."

Belle shared Wasabi's thoughts as she observed Elsa pulling out a second book, and a third one, from the box. From a quick glance, there were two things noticeably common between the books: they were all from the same publishing house. And the same author had their name displayed in every single one of them. "Who sent you such a thoughtful and rather well-timed gift?" she asked.

Elsa picked the last item in the box. "See for yourself," she said shaking an envelope in front of Belle's face.

Belle carefully ripped the envelope open and ran her eyes through the short note inside. "Oh, my!" she exclaimed.

"What? Who's it from?" Wasabi asked standing up so he could read the note as well. He chuckled throwing knowing looks at the blonde. "Damn, girl."

Elsa sighed collapsing on her chair. "Before you say anything, I haven't spoken to him in ages." She frowned. "Except from the one email I sent him last week."

"You know what they say"—Belle suppressed a chuckle by pressing her lips to the rim of her mug,—"it only takes a spark to start a fire."

The platinum blonde glared at the brunette. "Don't you even dare start, Belle," Elsa said making the others laugh.

Elsa unceremoniously put the books back inside the box and shoved it further away from her. She crossed her arms and tapped her fingers impatiently on her upper arm as she waited for her computer to power on.

Belle and Wasabi, probably taking pity on her, silently placed the envelope on Elsa's desk and changed subjects.

"Say, Elsa," Belle said taking a sip from her mug. " Do you like sweets?"

"I suppose…" the blonde said logging in on the computer.

"Then you must accompany on this delightful quest."

Elsa looked up at Belle with an arched eyebrow and a cautious smile. "What's that about?"

"Wasabi just intrigued me with the prospect of delicious dessert."

"Not only delicious," Wasabi added. "The best pastry in all New Burgess."

Elsa hummed with interest. "Is the store within walking distance from here?"

"Yeah, sure," the guy replied. "But it's a food truck, and there aren't any places to sit. So if we go at lunch, we should come back here to eat."

"I'm okay with that. Belle?"

"I don't see any problems either."

"We grab lunch somewhere and then go to Rollin' Bayou for the best beignets of your lives." Wasabi licked his lips eagerly. "How does today sound?"

"What are you sneaky people planning without me?" Rapunzel asked suddenly dropping her bag on her desk and looking from one person to the other. "And count me in, whatever that is."

"We're making lunch plans," Elsa explained.

"Oh, then you can totally count me in," Rapunzel said pulling out her chair.

Belle chuckled behind her hand. "Then it's settled."

Wasabi went on talking about restaurant options near the pastries food truck when Elsa noticed her assistant walking in.

She excused herself from the group as she called, "Peri!"

Periwinkle stopped on her tracks and smiled at the blonde. "Morning, Elsa." She looked over her superior's shoulder to the rest of the editors. "Good morning everyone."

"How's your schedule today?" Elsa asked after the pleasantries had been exchanged. "I would like to have a word with you later."

"Uh…" Peri pulled out her planner and flipped through its pages. "I've got a few things to take care of, but they're mostly on my computer, so I should be fine," she said running her eyes through her tasks. Then, she looked up at Elsa. "What's the talk about?"

"Hm… let's just say that you'll probably like what we have to discuss," Elsa said ominously. "Is 10:30 okay?"

"Sure."

"Thanks, Peri." Elsa smiled at the younger girl before returning to her desk.

"So Peri is finally doing a job on her own?" Belle asked as Elsa sat down again.

The platinum blonde looked at her with an arched eyebrow. "Now how would you already know about that, mademoiselle?"

"A little bird told me." Belle looked sideways at Wasabi, who pretended to be busy looking through a pile of papers.

Before Elsa could say something to the guy beside her, the sound of shoes clicking on the marble floor could be heard over the chatter in the room. They all turned around to find their boss walking purposefully straight to his office.

"Ah, the gem editors of my company all gathered together chit-chatting." Pitch kept his eyes on the group of editors as he walked past them. "I do believe I am not paying you to chit-chat."

Wasabi shot up from his chair. "No, sir! Apologies, sir!'

Their boss chuckled at the other guy's antics before he disappeared around a corner. "Get back to work, Mr. No-Ginger."

"Yes, sir!"

Rapunzel couldn't stop sniggering throughout the whole interaction between the two men. She kept stealing glances at Wasabi. "What was that?" she whispered at some point.

"Tell me the guy doesn't creep you out, Rapunzel." Wasabi narrowed his eyes leaning over his computer monitor to look at her. "I dare you."

Belle placed a sympathetic hand on Wasabi's shoulder. "Well, I should get back to my desk as well."

Elsa gave the other woman one last smile. "See you at lunch, Belle."

Belle nodded. "Yes. See you at lunch."

* * *

Team meeting. They read Sam's interview. Some feedback, kinda patronizing. Insinuate discussion about kids project.

The team was gathered in the conference room for their biweekly meeting. Violet had received the science magazine's interview, and she had forwarded it for the rest of the team to read.

The girl watched silently as her coworkers read on their own screens. Wilbur was the first one to put his tablet down.

"So?" she asked.

"Well, I think it's perfect."

Hiro snorted pushing his notebook computer away from him and crossing his arms. "Easy for you to say, you're not the one who sounds like an egotistical asshole."

"But you are an egotistical asshole," Wilbur said with an arched eyebrow.

"I'm also your boss," Hiro shot back with a growl.

Violet turned on her seat to look at her other boss. "What do you think, Hiccup?"

"It shows who we are well enough." The guy shrugged. "I like it."

"There's even that bit about what a happy little family we are," Guy added mockingly.

"Talk about marketing strategy," Tinkerbell scoffed shaking her head.

"Aw, come on," Hiccup whined with a childish pout. " We are a family, aren't we?"

The sincerity on his voice and lack of malice in his eyes took the younger members of the team by surprise, and the duo found themselves averting their eyes awkwardly.

Seeing the exchange, Wilbur chuckled to himself. "Hiccup," he called, and added as the auburn-haired guy gave him his full attention, "don't you ever change."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hiccup asked with suspicion and a genuinely confused frown.

Violet shook her head dismissing his question with a hand. "And that's why he's the heart of the company," she said, to what the others made different noises of agreement. Even Hiro had nodded discreetly. "So if you're all okay with it," the girl continued, "I'll give Scientist Only! the green light, okay?"

Hiro gave her a shrug. "Go for it."

Violet nodded marking it down on her laptop. "Now that that's out of the way, what other issues do we have to solve this week?"

"We're kinda behind schedule on the Muntz project because of shipment delay," Guy said looking through her notes.

Hiccup looked at Hiro confused, "I thought you were supposed to take care of that."

"I contacted the company several times, there wasn't much I could do," Hiro reasoned with a grunt. "But worry not Haddock, we can make up for lost time after the modulators arrive."

Hiccup hummed satisfied before clearing his throat soundly to change subjects. "So Tink, how's diplomacy with Atta going?" he asked.

The girl in question groaned falling back on her chair. "It's not going. They're skeptical, and their techie guy is a moron."

"Hmm, that's not good..." Hiccup scrubbed his chin in thought. "What if we give their team a crash course on our tech? Would that help speed things up?"

"I suppose," Tinkerbell mumbled. "But Flint, Atta's right hand and inventor-wannabe would still be a problem."

Hiro scoffed. "I hate inventors wannabe. I'm volunteering my services to kick his sorry ass back to the stinky basement he crawled out of."

"No, you're not." Hiccup shook his head. "This is an engineering issue. I'll go."

"Whoa, are you talking about relocating to Ant Island?" Guy asked worriedly.

"Could be a once or twice a week thing," Hiccup reasoned.

"Still, we'd be a pair of hands shorter in here," Wilbur said crossing his arms.

"It's just to get Atta off my back," Tinkerbell said. "And Hiccup is a damn persuasive guy. He'll win her over in no time."

Hiccup nodded. "Yeah, and then Tink will take the reins to do her magic, and I'll return to the workshop before you guys can miss me. Right, Tink?"

Tinkerbell gave the auburn-haired guy a thumbs up. "You got it, chief."

"I think we're stretching the team too thin," Hiro said.

"Why not hire more people, then?" Violet asked.

Hiro groaned. "It took three months to train Guy. Hiring a rookie would be more work than help."

"I'm with Hiro," Tinkerbell agreed. "I don't think we have time to train anyone right now."

"Guess that means working extra hours?" Guy mumbled scratching his head.

"We will all get some well-deserved vacation days at the end of the year," Hiccup said apologetically.

"Yeah, right," Tinkerbell scoffed.

"Don't make promises you can't keep, bossman," Violet said with a singsong voice.

"Even I know that's probably not gonna happen," Guy added sourly making the rest of the team chuckle with amusement.

"I mean it, guys," Hiccup protested.

"Hiccup," Wilbur called him in all his seriousness. "You two"—he pointed at the two company heads—"are the most work-obsessed human beings I've ever met—and I am the son of my parents. There could be a dark hole sucking all matter outside this building, and you guys would still keep working like it was no big deal. Which means we"—he gestured to the other employees with a wide gesture—"will be stuck in here with you."

"Whatever happened to keeping a healthy workplace," Violet mumbled with a roll of eyes.

"We are trying to do that!" Hiccup shouted. "And that includes me and Hiro not dying of overwork!"

"Hear that, Hamada?" Wilbur threw with a snort.

"Mind your own damn business, William."

"Anyway," Hiccup said with a clear of his throat. "To sum it up, Guy is tied up until the missing pieces arrive, I'll help Tink with the Ant Island project, we can't hire new people and Hiro is a cranky overlooker." The last part sent the rest of the team, sans Hiro, into chuckles. "Anything else?"

Hiro shook his head. "Nothing on my to-do list."

"Well," Violet started looking through her schedule, "We've got the children's project coming up."

"You two are in charge of that, aren't you?" Hiro asked gesturing with a pen to the mentioned two.

"Yes, sir," Tinkerbell replied.

"I assume everything is in order?"

Tinkerbell nodded. "Violet made a kid-friendly presentation, all equipment and materials have been sorted out, and both Guy and I taught Wilbur how to do each step to practice. I think we're good."

"They're good teachers," Wilbur chimed in.

Hiro smirked pleased. "Good job."

"You just gotta show up so the kids can see your pretty face," Guy said teasingly.

"Whose idea was to hire you, again?" Hiro asked arching one eyebrow.

"Yours," Guy replied nonchalantly. "And maybe Hiccup's too."

"And you prove us every day that we made the right choice," Hiccup stated firmly.

"Aww," Tinkerbell beamed reaching out to pinch Guy's cheek. "Such a golden boy!"

Guy pushed the girl away with a threatening glare.

"Alright, everyone." Violet clapped her hands to get their attention. "Before we get too deep into the mushy talk, I suggest we get back to work."

"What, the meeting is over already?" Wilbur asked with a pout. "And here I was enjoying this precious moment of team bonding."

"You know," Hiro said gathering his belongings before standing up. "Sometimes I feel like you have too much free time on your hands for the salary we pay you."

"Hey, who's the one who goes through all your contracts again? And I also do your accounting."

Hiccup snorted. "You pay someone to do that and read reports later."

Wilbur got on his feet and flicked back of Hiccup's ear. "That still counts as one less thing off your genius brains, doesn't it?" Wilbur asked with a challenging voice tone.

"Speaking of genius brains," Violet pushed Wilbur out of meeting room so she could walk in front of her Asian-American boss. "Can you help me, Mr. Computer Whiz? My computer has been super lagged up lately."

Hiro glared at the back of her head in disbelief. "You're asking the founder of a millionaire business, who also happens to be your boss to give run an antivirus on your computer?"

Violet shrugged. "What? If you can't fix it, I can always call tech support."

"Oh, ho, ho." Hiro walked past the other team members and stopped in front of Violet. "Of course I can fix it. Who do you think I am? Gimme your obsolete machinery, peasant." He didn't wait for the woman to give him the equipment before taking him from her hands with an annoyed huff.

Hiccup sighed as he watched Hiro stomping down the corridor mumbling about insubordination and incompetence all the way to his desk. "Come on, kids," he said looking back at his team. "We've got a lot of work to do."

* * *

Elsa's fingers pressed on the keyboard notes almost maniacally as she tried to type as many words as she could in the little time that she had. In her morning meeting, Peri had agreed on taking charge of Megara's launch party—although with some reluctance—, and Elsa had been organizing all the information her assistant would need in a spreadsheet file.

Having many other things to take care of during her work hours, she only had the short breaks from one assignment to another to work on Peri's to-do list. And boy, did she work. Things were divided into three pages: before the party, on the day of the party and after the party. Inside those different lists, Elsa had named several categories, detailing each item on the list the best she could. She made sure to add basic contact information to every service hired, she added notes to things that still demanded Megara's approval, she even added a section on how to accomplish certain tasks.

And everything was color coded.

So she was so enthralled in her work that she didn't notice her boss walking through the editors' workspace, heading straight to her desk.

"Miss Arendelle," Pitch Black called.

The sound of his husky voice startled the blonde and she immediately jumped to her feet, much to her fellow co-workers' amusement. "Yes!" she nearly shouted.

Pitch arched an eyebrow at her, but to her luck, decided not to throw her inside the well of shame she had magically produced.

"As you may recall," he said holding his hands behind his back. "I am to attend a summit along with some directors of our fair publishing family."

"Yes, I... recall... that," Elsa mumbled still a little out of her game.

"Well, it appears that there is something like 'proper business attire for the beach'," Pitch said using his fingers as quotation marks. "And my wardrobe does not constitute of clothing pieces that fit in said category."

Elsa nodded finding it hard to follow where her boss was going with that conversation. "I see…"

"Which is why Edna offered out of her heat's kindness to help Ego and me go shopping for the summit." Pitch's expression was sullen and defeated.

Despite finding her boss' situation amusing, Elsa held back the smile that threatened to form on her lips and nodded silently.

Pitch checked his watch. "I'm not sure how long that quest is going to take. Knowing Edna, we might as well give up on our schedules for the rest of the week." He met Elsa's eyes again. "Which means you will be in charge until I'm back."

Elsa's jaw dropped. Surely there were more suited people Pitch could ask that, weren't there? "Uh… I'm afraid I didn't hear you correctly, sir."

Pitch sighed pinching the bridge of his nose. "If you think I will sing your praises to convince you that you're capable enough to accept this responsibility, you are mistaken, Miss Arendelle. I do not have the time, nor am I interested in indulging such nonsense. You are in charge and you are to see that my personnel keep doing their jobs rightfully."

"O—of course, sir," Elsa stuttered.

Her boss chuckled as he turned around to leave. "Now if you'll excuse me, I am not one to believe in the term 'fashionably late', nor are my companions, I'm afraid."

Elsa waited until Pitch was out of sight to collapse on her chair.

"So you're the boss now," Rapunzel said from her desk wiggling her eyebrows.

Elsa sighed. "That's not funny, Rapunzel." Checking the time on her computer screen, she grabbed her planner and stood up again.

"Where are you going?" Wasabi asked.

"I have to talk to Rosetta," Elsa informed from over her shoulder.

Wasabi waved eagerly. "Have fun!"

"I'm sure will," she sang back and for the millionth time that day, Elsa sighed. She loved her job.

* * *

Moana walked in through the double doors of the Latotai Records' main building with her legs shaking and a lump on her throat. She had signed her first contract in her singing career with the record label, and to say that she was still nervous to stand in such places by herself was an understatement. She felt so out of place.

She gave her name at the reception desk and informed that she had a meeting with her manager.

The receptionist asked her to wait, and Moana went to a nearby couch and sat there, pressing her hands to her knees, holding herself from biting her nails.

She tied and untied her hair as she waited, and waited, and waited.

"Oh, the new generation's next singing sensation!" the familiar voice of Tamatoa, her manager brought her back to reality. He walked in her direction, arms wide open and a wide smile on his face.

Moana got on her feet, and as the man got closer, she could see the many sparkling accessories he wore. It went from his fedora hat's metal details, passing from his golden tooth, necklace and watch, to the buckles on his shoes. He was so shiny that she had to blink a few times to adjust her eyes.

"It's so good to see you again, Mr. Tamatoa," Moana said breathlessly as he pulled her into a hug.

"Mister?" Tamatoa huffed. "Do I look old to you, honey?"

Moana shook her head. "No, sir." At the glare the manager sent her, she immediately corrected herself, "I mean, no… dude?"

"Well, come along, child." Tamatoa turned on his heels and gestured with a finger for her to follow him. "Time is money, and we're wasting both by standing here."

They got in the elevator and Tamatoa continued talking, "Your team is waiting for you—"

"I have a team?" Moana interrupted him in disbelief.

He stared at her as if it was the stupidest question he had ever heard. "Of course you do. Now, I hate being interrupted, so you will wait until I'm done talking, then it's your turn, got it?"

Moana pressed against the side of the elevator trying to merge with the wall. As the guy kept staring at her, she realized he was waiting for an answer, so she nodded eagerly.

Pleased with her obedience, the manager continued, "We have highly qualified professionals working on your debut single as we speak."

She had to press her lips together to stop the questions and words of excitement from coming out of her mouth.

"In the meantime, we oughta do something about your appearance." Tamatoa eyed her from head to toes. He reached out for a strand of her hair and twirled it around her finger. "You're a funny looking thing. Have I ever told you that?"

Moana opened her mouth but wasn't sure whether he expected her answer, or that was just a rhetorical question. Before she could dwell on the matter, he continued his monologue.

"Ugh. You're so boring, darling. My stylists will have a plate full zhooshing you up." Tamatoa averted his eyes from her as if her appearance made him feel physical pain. "By the time they're done with you, people will be fighting to have you stepping on their backs."

The elevator's door opened and he confidently strode out, arms moving widely and hands imitating an explosion.

"You better be ready, honey, I'm about to transform you into a shiny start."

Moana could only swallow her apprehension as she followed him.

* * *

Astrid heard a sigh coming from the station and her eyes unconsciously followed the sound. It felt like it was the thirtieth time her fellow patisserie chef had sighed in the last half an hour. He sighed again, and she was about to demand him to stop but someone else beat her to it.

"Will you cut that out?" Ruffnut shouted shoving a knife in her brother's direction.

"I can't help it," Tuff mumbled absentmindedly adding ingredients to the bowl of batter in front of him. His eyes were hazy and he twirled around his workspace slowly, his clumsy hands very contrasting with the skillful and precise movements of a professional cook.

"Why?" Snotlout asked with a snort. "You dying?"

"If one could die from the matters of the heart," Tuffnut said pressing a hand over his chest.

"As is heart attacks?" FIshlegs asked. "Sure, one in four deaths in the country is caused by heart diseases."

"You and your facts, you pitiful science slave," Tuff groaned. "I'm talking about emotional pain."

The rest of the kitchen team stared at the blonde guy trying to make sense of what troubled his mind.

Snotlout threw his arms in the air. "Okay, I'll bite. What the hell are you talking about?"

"I can feel my heart breaking into a million of pieces," Tuff said falling to the floor dramatically. He cried loudly, his face contorting into an ugly scowl of despair.

Tuff was so loud that the even the dining room staff rushed into the kitchen to see what the commotion was about.

"Why does it sound like you're murdering someone in here?" Heather asked walking to the head chef for answers.

Astrid shrugged gesturing in Tuff's direction with her head. "Tuff is having a breakdown."

Heather sucked in a breath. "Oh, my God. Is he dying?"

"Apparently not."

Tuff continued to cry, snot running down his nose.

"God," Ruff groaned and took decided steps towards her twin. She pulled Tuff off the floor by the collar and slapped him across the cheeks twice. "Snap out of it!"

"You never felt the pain of love!" Tuff pushed himself away from Ruff like a frightened wild animal. "None of you understand!"

Tuff blew his nose on his apron and isolated himself inside the walk-in freezer.

Fishlegs let out an audible squeak as the freezer's heavy door was slammed shut. "Pain of love?" He looked around at the equally confused staffs.

"What's he talking about?" Astrid asked Ruff.

The female twin shrugged. "Beats me."

"Tuff was the usual Tuff back at Snotlout's," Heather said with a hand on her chin. "When did that happen then?"

"Didn't he give Eret and Jack a ride home?" Fishlegs asked and all eyes turned to the tall brunet also known as Eret Eretson.

Snotlout frowned. "Why are we looking at Eret…" As the words came out of his mouth, Snotlout seemed to understand and his eyes grew wide with comprehension. "You son of a bitch broke Tuff's heart!"

Eret raised his arms to convince the rest of them that he was innocent and shook his head eagerly. "Wasn't me!"

"Then who was it?" Snotlout demanded.

"Uh, Snotlout?" Astrid called him. "There was another person in the car with them?"

"You mean Frost? TUFF HAD SEX WITH JACK FROST?" Snotlout's outburst seemed to reach the freezer as they could hear Tuff's desolated cry restarting immediately after that.

"Guess that confirms our speculations," Fishlegs mumbled shyly, a hint of pink coloring his cheeks.

Snotlout made a gagging noise. "Excuse me while I go give myself a concussion. Hopefully, it will erase that disturbing mental image from my head." He dragged his feet out of the room mumbling incoherently to himself.

Ruff snapped her fingers making sense of the presented facts. "So that's where he was last night."

"How come you didn't know until now?" Heather asked.

"I don't keep track of my brother's life," Ruff said matter of factly. "I know what kind of person Tuff is and trust me, sister, there's a really dark place in there"—the blonde fingered her head suggestively—"that not even I dare to come close." She laughed maniacally as she returned to her station, and so the rest of the employees went back to their previous tasks.

Heather hummed thoughtfully as she remained around Astrid's counter. "Bet he's an insatiable beast in bed," the dark-haired girl said licking her lips.

"Who?" Astrid asked with her back towards her roommate as she inspected the contents of a cabinet. She looked at Heather from over her shoulder. "Tuff?"

Heather gave her an incredulous 'are you insane?' look. "No! I mean Jack."

It was Astrid's turn to feel shocked. "Ew, dude."

Heather laughed flicking her hair over her shoulder. "You saw what one night of thirst with him did to Tuff."

"Don't you have things to take care of before opening?" Astrid didn't even try to hide the displeasure with her friend's opinion.

Heather arched an eyebrow at the blonde. "Think you can hook me up with him?"

She grabbed a dirty dishcloth and threw at Heather with annoyance.

"Alright, alright." Heather hid behind the wall to escape the other woman's firing range. "I was just asking. No harm in that."

"Get your pheromones out of my kitchen!"

* * *

By the time Elsa's meeting with Rosetta had ended, she had barely any energy left to function. It wasn't like she had problems with the marketing girl or anything, but that still had been an exhausting meeting. Productive, sure, but it still had drained a lot of her capacity of making choices.

It had been a long day. And she still had to finish Peri's spreadsheet.

The day wasn't over yet, though. As she made her way back to her desk, she was surprised at the unexpected guest appearance.

Jack Frost was sitting on her chair flipping through the pages of one of the books she had unboxed that morning.

He chatted amicably with Wasabi, and Elsa felt some satisfaction at the fact that Rapunzel seemed to be ignoring the writer completely. She figured it was a better alternative than having her glaring—or worse, throwing unkind comments—at him.

With a deep breath, she composed herself and put a soft smile on her face. "Reminiscing about your own work, Mr. Frost?" she asked gently.

He looked up from the book and smiled back at her. "Something like that."

He motioned to stand up, but she insisted that he made himself comfortable and pulled another chair from a vacant desk nearby.

"I wasn't aware you were coming," she said positioning her chair in front of her computer. Despite being under orders to treat him well, she did not have time to do so at the moment. He would just have to entertain himself.

"I enjoy surprising people," he said with a shrug.

"Do you now?" She kept the writer on the corner of her peripheral vision but paid limited attention to his actions.

"Hmhmm. Didn't know you were a fan, Miss Arendelle."

She took her eyes off her computer and found him holding up the book he had been reading. "Oh, I did not have the pleasure of reading them yet," she explained apologetically.

His smug expression faltered for the tiniest fraction of time. "Would you still like me to sign those for you?" he asked with an arched eyebrow.

She laughed and turned on her chair getting back to work. "Sure, Mr. Frost. I would be flattered."

Wasabi, who although silent seemed to be paying way more attention to them than she assumed, offered the writer a pen. The innocent look he had on when he met her eyes was so fake that it made her roll her eyes.

The sound of scribbling on paper got mixed up with the rest of the office's noises. He signed one book after the other, occasionally stopping to think about the message he wanted to leave her.

"You've got the whole collection," Jack commented at some point. "That's a lot of dedication for someone who claims not to be a fan."

Elsa hummed. "I actually got them all today."

If she could see him, she would find a rather curious Mr. Frost staring at her. "Really?"

"I told a friend at Magic Mirror that you had been to our office and he mailed me that box of books."

"Who's your friend?"

Following Jack's question, Wasabi started sniggering beside her. Elsa threw a glare at the guy efficiently shutting him up.

Oblivious to the exchange between the editor, Jack continued, "Maybe I know the guy."

Elsa bit her lip before replying, "An editor known as Hades?"

"Doesn't ring any bells." Jack scratched his chin in thought. "What's he like?"

"Tall, intimidating, short-tempered—"

"Clinically insane…" Wasabi interrupted Elsa with a cough.

The blonde chuckled. "Used to dye his hair a lot, then started going bald."

"Oh, that guy." Jack snapped his fingers pleased with himself. "We never officially met, but I remember seeing him around."

"We're old acquaintances," Elsa told him casually.

"And here I thought you were supposed to be enemies," Jack said with amusement.

"Why? Because we work for rival companies?"

Wasabi chuckled and turned to the writer to say, "We run into each other on book-related events often, occasionally even getting invited to their New Year parties and vice-versa. Would be very awkward if we didn't get along with other publishing houses."

Elsa laughed meeting Jack's eyes from over her shoulder. "Sorry to disappoint you, Mr. Frost, but we're way more civilized to each other than you're probably imagining."

"So it seems," Jack mused.

A trolley cart stopped right beside their island and Terence, the errand boy greeted them. "Can you sign this for me?" he asked holding out a clipboard for Elsa.

The blonde woman took the clipboard and ran her eyes through the information written on the paper. She looked up at Terence with a frown. "Me?"

"You're in charge in Mr. Black's absence, right?"

Elsa shook her head returning the clipboard to the young man. "I'm pretty sure that was a joke, Terence."

Terence pushed it towards Elsa. "I still need someone to sign it."

"Can't Clarion or Milori do it?" Elsa pleaded exasperated.

The errands boy shook his head. "Mr. Milori is out overseeing printing, and Queen Ree is in the middle of a conference meeting with India."

"He's right, you know," Wasabi commented folding his hands behind his head. "You are next in the succession line."

Elsa flinched and let out a defeated sigh. "Fine." She hastily signed her name and gave Terence the clipboard.

"Well, Miss Arendelle," Jack Frost said as he watched Terence disappearing with his cart around a corner. "I knew you were a talented professional, but I wasn't aware you were so high up the publishing food chain."

She laughed wholeheartedly. "I'm not, Mr. Frost," she said humbly. "Unusual circumstances put me in this provisory position." She spun around on her chair to fully face him. "I'm just another editor trying to look out for the authors I'm in charge of."

He hummed leaning back leisurely. He eyes her carefully, making her feel self-conscious.

"Is something the matter?" she asked tilting her head to the side.

He leaned forward holding his upper body weight with his forearms on his thighs.

"... What if I was interested in having you looking out for me as well?"

* * *

 **Some trolls have been wandering around the Frozen fandom. And I feel left out.**

 **Guest reader Pizzalover said the previous chapter felt like a filler. Yep, I agree with you. Some scenes were kinda important (like the introducing Moana and the Bennett kids), but others I had to ramble because the events didn't make sense chronologically. So yeah, you're totally right.**

 **"Marketing fairies" was a concept very strong in my head before the first chapter was even done. And also Tuff in love. On that note,** **I'm too lazy to check the numbers now, but... Add another character to Jack's score.**


	5. Chapter 5

They were having another busy day at the publisher, but that was already to be expected. The heavy workload was pretty much in their job description. Elsa was taking care of her daily tasks as usual when a dramatic groan from her cousin caught her attention. Arching an eyebrow, Elsa peaked through their desks and watched as Rapunzel picked up her phone with the fingers of her free hand pressed to an eyelid.

"Hello, Mother," Rapunzel said on her phone, her voice calm and composed.

Elsa turned to the guy beside her and noticed that he too was intrigued by the phone call. They both knew Rapunzel's relationship with her mother was, on the best of days, restricted. Since she stopped living under the same roof as her mother, their interactions had become even more sparse, partly because her mother rarely was reachable—in the physical sense of the word.

Rapunzel grunted. "What? When? Why?" She listened to the other side of the line with pressed lips and narrowed eyes.

Wasabi poked Elsa with a pen, a worried look in his eyes. She shook her head in a silent gesture of mutual confusion.

"They're under the flower pot on the left," Rapunzel mumbled. "I'll probably be coming home late, so make yourself comfortable, okay?" Another pause. "Yeah, I love you."

"Bye." Before Rapunzel could finish saying the word, she had already pulled the device away from her ear. She groaned hiding her face in her hands.

"Anything the matter?" Wasabi asked carefully.

"My mother is in town," Rapunzel declared, her face still buried in her hands.

"That's… fun," Elsa commented, trying to sound positive, but failing remarkably.

Rapunzel snorted with contempt. "Sure, if you consider having your own home conquered by a lunatic forty years old woman, then yeah" —she made circles with her finger—"loads of fun."

"How long is she planning on staying this time?" Wasabi asked.

Their conversation was interrupted as someone approached them and placed a hand on Elsa's shoulder. "Elsa?" Belle called. "Pitch is asking for us."

"Oohh…" Wasabi glanced conspiratorially at Rapunzel and they both sniggered.

"Looks like the golden girls are in trouble," Rapunzel said in a singsong voice.

"Ha-ha." Elsa glowered at the duo before leaving with Belle. "Know what it's about?" she asked as they headed to their boss' room.

"Not a clue."

The door was open, so Belle knocked peeking inside. Pitch was finishing a phone call and signaled for them to come in.

"Good morning, sir," Belle said cordially as Pitch put down the phone and looked at them. "How was the shopping trip?"

"A memorable experience," Pitch replied curtly and slid a golden envelope on the table.

Elsa reached out for it, and after a silent request for permission, she opened it. Inside the envelope, there was an invitation to the launching party of the book _Gaston: the man in the mirror. A biography by Gaston LeGume_. Confused, she looked up at Belle for some kind of clue, but her confusion was multiplied as she found Belle looking at the invitation with pressed lips and a concerned frown.

"A party, sir?" Elsa asked.

Pitch leaned back on his chair and casually looked from one woman to the other. "We've been invited to Magic Mirror's next launching," he explained, his voice tone as emotion-deprived as it could get. "Now, I've had the displeasure of meeting Mr. Gaston once and was not impressed by his synaptic capacities." He closed his eyes and shook his head slightly, as if ridding his mind of an unpleasant memory. "I would rather not let some unkind words slip in Grimhilde's presence and end up making a scene," he confided. "Which is why I nominated you two to represent us instead."

"This invitation covers only one guest," Elsa reminded him shaking the piece of extravagant paper in her hands.

"I have been told that Belle has received an invitation of her own, have you not?"

Belle nodded slowly. "I have. I was not planning on attending the party, though."

"I would kindly ask you to reconsider your plans," Pitch said. "Otherwise, Elsa will have to be sent on her own if she agrees on going."

"That's okay with me." Elsa gave Belle a gentle smile.

"You haven't met Gaston, have you?" There was a hint of pity in Belle's voice.

"I haven't."

"Then you don't know what you're signing up for." With a deep sigh, the brunette returned her attention to their boss. "You can count on my presence, sir."

"Your efforts are truly appreciated, Miss Enfant."

With nothing more to discuss about the party, the girls were about to excuse themselves, but Pitch spoke again, "Miss Arendelle, if I could speak with you in private for a moment?"

Belle gave Elsa's shoulder a reassuring squeeze as she stood up, then left the room closing the door behind her.

"I believe you made progress with Mr. Frost?" Pitch asked with an eyebrow raised.

Elsa sighed. "I'm not entirely sure, sir."

Pitch waited for her explanation, but she didn't know how to continue, so an awkward silence filled the room as they kept staring at each other.

She felt heat rising to her cheeks and coughed into her hand averting her eyes first. "He insinuated something about us working together, but I'm pretty sure he was only teasing me, because I told him to come another day so we could discuss a deal, and he hasn't shown up yet. It's been three days, sir."

Pitch scratched his chin. "Hmm."

"Maybe someone else will have more success in dragging him to the publisher," Elsa suggested.

"Maybe," Pitch agreed straightening up. "But I would like you to stay in charge of him for a while longer if you don't mind."

Elsa bit her lower lip, but dared not to word her concerns out loud.

"If I know anything about Mr. Frost, it's that he thinks he's smarter than the people around him," Pitch continued.

"He wants to be in control of the situation," he continued. "And is probably expecting you to contact him first."

"... Am I supposed to contact him first?" Elsa asked with uncertainty.

Pitch groaned pinching the bridge of his nose. "No, Miss Arendelle, you are not.

"The second he feels cornered, Jack will bolt, and when that happens, we can kiss our chances of bringing him to the publisher goodbye.

"Keep in mind that he came to you on his own. And even if we don't know what made him do it, we will trust your bond with him, and we will wait."

Elsa bit her lower lip apprehensively.

"He's a scared animal with trust issues, Elsa," Pitch said with a hint of softness in his voice. "Give him time to make him feel like he can trust you."

She nodded. "So I just have to wait?"

"For now."

"Okay. I can do that," Elsa said to convince herself more than her boss.

"You are dismissed then," Pitch informed, and as she stood up from her chair, he added, "And I'm expecting a positive update on your transfer of Megara's party to Periwinkle."

She almost lost her pacing at her boss' not-so-friendly reminder. Composing herself and dusting off her skirt, she turned on her heels to face her boss.

"Of course, sir. I will come to you with a report by the end of the day."

Pitch hummed. "Very well."

As she left Pitch's office, she untied her braid and tied it back up on a tight bun. It wasn't time for silly schoolgirling anymore. She didn't have time to literally wait next to the phone for a boy to call her.

She had work to do.

* * *

He heard the crash of things falling to the floor.

His first instinct was to yell at whoever was responsible for the noise, but he was at work, and his clients were watching, and he wasn't supposed to scare them off unless they whining on the treadmills. So he clenched his fists and walked as calmly as he could to the source of the sound.

To his utter annoyance, he found his cousin crouched on the floor with a bunch of the gym's water bottles around her like a bird's nest.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Maui hissed crossing his arms.

Moana jumped startled. "It was an accident!" she explained exasperatedly. She tried to pile the bottles back up, but after the third one, they all rolled to the floor again.

"Give me that." With a sigh, Maui took the item in this cousin's hand and carefully started building a carefully balanced pyramid of water bottles. "Could you possibly be any clumsier?"

"I was just looking," Moana mumbled.

Maui snorted. "Since when do you look with your hands?" Done with the pyramid, he turned on his heels to look at the girl. "Why are you ruining my merch anyway?"

Moana rolled her eyes annoyed. "I didn't ruin anything, stop exaggerating. Also, you can't blame me for gravity."

Grunting, Maui walked past her with a shove to the shoulder. "Don't you have anywhere else to be?"

"I don't."

Moana followed him.

"What about your job? Didn't you move here to record an album or something?" he asked as he pulled out a bunch of towels and handed Moana one.

She took it begrudgingly and started folding it. "I'm supposed to wait for my manager to call me. He said his team is still building their strategy."

"Strategy for what?"

Moana shrugged nonchalantly. "Turning me into a star?"

"You? A star?" He laughed with contempt. "Please."

Moana grumbled unpleasantries as she wrestled a towel.

As he saw that, Maui grunted throwing his hands in the air. "Oh for the love of God, you really are incompetent." He snatched the towel from her hands with hostility. "How do you expect people to buy these towels if they are all wrinkled and sad-looking?"

"I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I'm trying."

"Just don't. You're only increasing my workload." Maui sighed and pointed at an empty stool near the window. "Now be a good girl and go sit over there. And stay still."

Feeling too guilty to fight him, Moana dragged her feet to the stool and sat there absentmindedly watching the street.

Not even five minutes had passed when the girl's voice interrupted Maui once more.

"I'm bored," Moana said in a sing-song voice.

"I don't care," Maui replied with the same musical tone.

"Isn't there anything I can help with?"

Maui laughed humorlessly. "Sweetheart, you've helped plenty."

"Please, Maui," Moana begged getting on her feet and walking purposefully towards her cousin. "I have nothing else to do."

"Red!" Maui called Merida as soon as he saw her coming from the exercising area. "Perfect timing." He rushed to his friend, having to hold himself from hugging her in relief.

"Can I help you?" Merida asked crossing her arms suspiciously.

"You sure can." He turned on his heels to point at his cousin. "Get her out of my sight."

Moana's eyes went wide in a mixture of shock, embarrassment, and every other emotion between those two.

"Why?"

"She's driving me nuts." Maui glared at the brunette threateningly. "And I can't get any work done with her interrupting me every five minutes."

Merida's eyes went from the girl to the guy, then back to the girl as she seemed to consider her options. Then, she shrugged. "Sure, why not?" She met Moana's eyes and gave her a sympathetic smile. "I've got a couple of errands to run around the city. Wanna come?"

Moana nearly jumped in excitement. "Yes! Let me go grab my bag." She rushed to the restricted area for her belongings.

"You're an angel, girl." Maui tapped the red-haired girl on the shoulder before walking back to his tasks.

Merida let out a loud snort. "And don't you forget it."

She didn't have to wait long before Moana's heavy footsteps could be heard echoing through the gym as she ran back to the reception area.

"Ready to go?" the redhead asked slinging her gym bag over a shoulder.

The other girl nodded. "Yeah. Bye, Maui."

"Have fun!" Maui sang sarcastically waving as the two girls passed the front desk.

"Where are we going?" Moana asked.

Merida pulled the door open and held it for the other girl. Her eyes sparkled, and she had a mischievous smirk on her lips. "You'll see."

* * *

Tinkerbell made check gestures in the air with her pen as she located each item of the list in her head. She looked through the labels on the boxes surrounding her to make sure that they had brought all the materials for the workshop.

Wilbur placed another box on the floor and stretched his arms over his head.

"Is this the last one?" Tink asked inspecting the items inside.

Wilbur nodded. "Yep. Oh, but I think Guy still had stuff on the front seat."

Tinkerbell hummed as she flipped through the papers on her clipboard. She looked up and watched Guy walking towards them with a paper bag in one hand. "Please tell me those are the paints and the brushes," she said with a hint of uneasiness in her voice.

"These are the paints and the brushes," Guy told her.

Tink sighed, a hand going to her forehead in relief. "Oh, thank God."

Hiccup approached her with a chuckle and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I assume that means we have everything we need?"

"Yeah."

"So what's next?" Wilbur asked.

Tink put her hands on her hips and looked at all the backyard. "I think we should set some independent workstations to keep things organized. One for each of us." She made a circular gesture between herself, Hiccup and Guy.

"Sounds good," said Hiccup.

"And Wilbur?" Tink called the lawyer. "Can you set the projector for the presentation?"

"Yes, ma'am."

As the four worked on building the three different workstations, Violet and Mildred Duffy, the Sixth Street Orphanage's director, came out of the building laughing together at something one said to the other.

Hiccup stood up to greet them and pulled Tink as the head of the operation with him.

"Miss Parr was just sharing some details on the schedule you prepared for us today," the older woman said smiling at the other two.

"Tink and Guy deserve all the credit," Hiccup said proudly and rubbed Tink's shoulders.

"Thanks, boss," the girl mumbled shyly.

"The children are all excited," the headmistress gestured to the building, where children of a wide assortment of ages could be found piling up over windows just waiting to be allowed outside.

"Hopefully they will like what we've prepared for them," Tink said.

"Oh, I'm sure they will." The woman locked eyes with the blonde, and her smile spoke of a thousand words of gratitude at once. "Thank you."

Touched, Tink placed a hand over her heart and smiled back. "We're the ones who should be thanking you for the opportunity."

"Guys, we're all set," Guy informed as he walked towards them.

"Good job." Hiccup welcomed the other man to the circle with a slap to the back.

"Should we let the kids out?" Violet asked with a smirk.

Tink looked from one workmate to the other and a grin formed on her face. She nodded at Violet before saying, "I think they've waited long enough."

It was time to have some fun.

* * *

Eugene was pumped. He had his headphones on, the music blasting through his earbuds making his brain vibrate. He hummed along with the tune as he thought about the day.

It was Rapunzel's and his six months anniversary, and he was going all out. Surely, it was a bit out of character for him, but there was something about the girl that turned him into a cheesy dweeb. If she asked him to jump, his immediate response would be to ask her how high.

So his planning consisted of several small actions that he figured would be of her enjoyment, and hopefully would brighten up her day at least a little bit. So he spammed her with gifs of cute puppies and kittens adorned with ribbons and hearts. He had flowers along with a punny card sent to her office, he got Astrid's lasagna recipe, he bought a bunch of balloons and paraphernalia to decorate the apartment, he even got her some bling as a gift.

Reaching her apartment, he juggled his shop bags with an arm, a leg and the door as he patted his pockets for the keys. Rapunzel was still at work, so he had the whole apartment to himself and two hours to prepare the most romantic anniversary surprise he could.

He was so focused on running a checklist in his head that he didn't notice the apartment was not vacant as he first imagined. The first thing he noticed out of place was the disgusting smell of smoke that came to his nostrils.

… The second was the semi-naked lady standing up from the couch with a cigarette in one hand and a glass of wine in the other.

Completely shocked, Eugene let the bags slip through his grasp, and the groceries spread through the floor. He tried to say something, but his mouth had suddenly gone dry, so he ended up opening and closing it repeatedly like a fish.

"My, what a delightful surprise do we have here?" The dark-haired, unknown woman asked as she moved in his direction.

Eugene dared to look at her, then immediately looked away again. Though he was glad she had at least tied the robe around her body, the fabric was sheer and he could see the lingerie she wore underneath with no trouble at all.

"Uh…" Eugene stared at the wall to his left as his brain tried to make sense of this unknown woman in his girlfriend's apartment. "I'm Eugene… You… must be Rapunzel's mother!" He mentally pumped his fist on the air with great satisfaction.

The woman chuckled, and he couldn't figure out the emotions that came with that response. "You would be correct."

"It's, uh…" He dared not look at her… situation again, so he offered his hand and kept his eyes staring at the living room over the woman's head. "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Corona."

"Please." The woman shook her head. "Corona was my ex-husband's last name."

He felt her thumb tracing lines in the back of his hand and it sent chills down his spine.

"Call me Goethel," she said in a sultry voice.

He lowered his vision so he could barely reach her eyes, and if all his hairs weren't already standing, the possessive look the woman sent his ways did the trick. He gulped hard as he tried to come up with a response, but his brain let him down for the second time in the short period he had been at that woman's presence.

Goethel, probably sensing his uneasiness, took matters into her own hands and with her free hand, traced a line up his arm to his biceps.

She purred.

He almost fainted.

"Looks like my daughter takes after me in more ways than I would have expected," Goethel said stepping close enough to him so their bodies touched. "She has good taste in men."

Eugene cleared his throat and shook himself out of that trance. "Speaking of her, I should be making dinner," he said lowering himself to pick the scattered groceries from before. "It's our anniversary."

"How nice."

The woman's excitement sounded fake even for Eugene's buzzing ears.

Goethel sashayed back to the couch picking up her glass and twirling it in her hand. "Be a dear and join me for a glass of wine before that."

"I have lasagna to make—"

"What kind of gentleman would let a lady drink alone?" Goethel admonished with a reprimanding pout.

Eugene hesitated. After putting the shopping bags on the counter, he checked the clock on the wall. He didn't have much time to spare, but that still was his girlfriend's mother, and he figured he had an obligation to get her to like him… One glass of wine shouldn't be a problem. He could ask Goethel to help him with the decoration, and they could make up for lost time with ease.

Resolute, he picked a clean glass from the pantry and walked to the living room.

Satisfied, she leaned back on the couch and crossed her legs. "Tell me everything about yourself, darling."

* * *

The flea market in New Burgess was in a whole different level from the ones found in the village of Motunui, an island in the Pacific where everyone knew everyone.

Being a small town girl, Moana found herself mesmerized by the vibrancy and life of it all. Everywhere she looked, there was a stall offering colorful and exotic items, people wandered through vendors in a messy, yet weirdly pleasant unchoreographed-choreography, and she loved being a part of that number.

Although she didn't understand the reasons behind being brought there in the first place, she still enjoyed it and took every detail in with joy and childish glee.

"So.. uh… Why did we come to a flea market?" Moana asked the woman beside her. "Not that I'm complaining, just curious."

"I'm sort of an interior designer," Merida explained with a nonchalant shrug. "I basically get paid to decorate houses for rich people who are too lazy to do it themselves."

Moana laughed. "Sounds like a cool gig."

"Meh, have its perks." The redhead led them to a display of carved wood sculptures.

"Ah, you came again," the old lady in charge of the stall greeted them with a curt nod.

"I did." Merida nodded back and ran her eyes through the items being sold. "Whatcha got for me this week?"

"Look at these nice candlesticks." The vendor shoved two of the items in Merida's face.

"And you can assure me that they won't catch fire?" Merida asked with a skeptical look. "I know your work, lady."

"You gonna insult my work, you can go to Gepetto's and get yourself one of his cursed puppets."

"Maybe I will," Merida mumbled turning one of the candlestick holders in her hands and inspecting it carefully. "Custom service sure is better over there!"

The old woman scoffed. "Brat."

"Witch," Merida retorted.

Moana looked away as the two women continued to spit insults at each other, and one of the carvings caught her attention. A sculpture of a bear, and fishes carved in a cylindrical piece that seemed to move. She picked it up and was surprised to find out that it was, in reality, a music box. She winded it up a couple of times and watched with amusement the bear stretching its neck to catch the fish as the music played.

"Are you kidding me, old hag?"

Moana jumped at the sudden scream and looked worriedly at her companion.

Merida pointed a finger at the woodcarver's face accusingly. "Who do you think you are, motherfucking Michelangelo?"

"What your tongue girlie, I don't get paid to deal with your attitude." The woman picked up a carving tool and a piece of wood, and started scraping at it, tuning out the ginger girl.

Merida snorted with contempt. "Oh, don't worry, that's free of charge."

"I told you already, Gepetto is just a couple of stalls down from here."

Merida grunted. "Fine," she said through clenched teeth. "Give me two, and let me know when you have any of those ugly, old tapestries."

"They're antique, you uncultured animal."

Merida rolled her eyes, and as she did that, her eyes met Moana's.

"And give me that bear thingie too," the redhead added pointing at the music box in Moana's hands. A smile flourished on her features.

"Consider it a welcome gift," Merida said before resuming the arguing with the artisan.

* * *

They had been sitting in silence for what felt like hours. Peri never related more to that 'wanting to dig a hole and hide in it' expression in her entire life. She fidgeted on her seat, folding and unfolding her hands as Megara lifted her cup to her lips, eyes never leaving the young assistant, and took a slow sip.

"As I said, Megara," Elsa, the beacon in Peri's dark hole of anxiety and insecurities, spoke up, her voice confident, calm and reassuring. "Peri is a very competent professional, and she has been working with me for just as long as the two of us have." She gestured between the writer and herself.

"She looks like a baby that just got out of diapers," Megara said.

Elsa ignored the previous statement and continued, "I have no doubt that she will be capable of taking care of your launching party at my absence."

"Yes, you already said that before," Meg agreed sarcastically.

"Peri is aware of all the event's details."

"Yes!" Peri stepped in nervously. "I have the list of all services hired, I've been in touch with the press, and I can forward you the list of confirmed guests if you'd like."

Megara crossed her legs and held her chin with one hand. "Can you really do it?"

"I—"

Peri glanced at Elsa for help, but her superior kept her eyes locked on Meg's, her expression not faltering a single inch. The young assistant then looked back at Meg. She breathed in slowly adjusting her posture and hardening her resolve. "I can."

Meg waited, as if you expecting the girl to chicken out and take it back.

She didn't.

"Very well," the author said with an exhausted sigh. she stood up and ran her hands through her clothes unwrinkling the fabrics. "I haven't seen the favor bags yet, see that one is delivered to me within the week."

Peri got on her feet with a jump. "Yes, ma'am!"

Megara groaned. "If you're gonna work for me, you better learn to never call me that again."

"O—of course."

Megara waited for Elsa to stand up as well before she spoke again, "You better not be wrong about this, Elsa."

Elsa smiled politely at the writer. "I'm not."

Megara nodded, and then pointed at Peri. "You. forward me all the things you're working on. I don't wanna say that I don't trust you yet or anything, but I don't trust you yet."

Peri flinched. "Sure."

"Let us know if there's anything else we can do for you," Elsa said.

"Not tossing my fucking party around like a hot potato would be great," Meg replied mockingly.

Elsa's serene smile remained unchanged. "Of course."

The two editors walked Meg out, and Peri waited until the elevators doors closed to let out a strangled cry of frustration.

"Well, that went better than I expected," Elsa mumbled. She waved at the receptionist before making her way back inside the office.

"Are you kidding me?" Peri asked, her voice shaky and strangled. "I thought she would tear my throat with those sharp, pretty, acrylic nails."

Elsa laughed. "Don't let Megara's attitude get to you. She has this tough persona going on, but most of it is for show."

"If you say so," Peri mumbled. "I'm still terrified of her."

They got to Elsa's desk and she turned on her heels to smile at the assistant. "I'm sure you'll manage her alright."

"Your faith in me is very pressuring," Peri mumbled staring at her shoes.

Elsa smiled. "Don't let it be."

"I should go." Peri gestured in her desks direction. " Gotta organize a bunch of files before sending copies to Meg."

"Thank you again, Peri."

The younger girls eyes widened in surprise. "I'm the one who should be thanking you, Elsa."

"I promise, I won't let you down."

* * *

When he walked out of the elevator, Hiro was glaring at him with crossed arms from the other side of the glass wall as usual.

"Sup, Hiro?" Jack greeted him as he entered the office.

"Don't you have a book to write, or something?"

Looking around the silent room, Jack ignored the question and asked one of his own, "Where's everyone?"

Hiro shoved past him and walked to his desk. "Didn't Hiccup tell you? The team went to an orphanage to do a workshop with kids."

Jack went to the kitchen and poured himself a mug of coffee. "He may have mentioned something. I kinda tune him out when he starts speaking science."

The silverhead sat on the couch and watched as Hiro typed at the speed of light on his keyboard. "So how come you didn't go?" he asked after a while.

Hiro shrugged. "Figured my efforts would be of better use if I stayed here."

Jack slurped on his beverage, earning himself a warning glare from the other guy. He stopped and mumbled a half-hearted apology. "Did you have lunch?"

"Nope."

"It's past three."

Hiro shrugged, his eyes remaining glued to his screen. "Lost track of time. Might as well just skip it."

"Not on my watch." Jack stood up purposefully. He chugged the remaining coffee in his mug and pointed a finger at Hiro. "Let's go find something to eat."

Hiro rolled his eyes. "What kind of character are you trying to impersonate now?"

Jack walked toward the desk. "Hiccup probably wouldn't like to find your cold corpse when he comes back," he said crossing his arms. "And let's be honest, you look like you can drop dead any second."

"Don't be dramatic."

"You'll feel better after eating something."

"If you're gonna keep pestering me, you might as well get the fuck out of my office."

Jack crouched down on the floor and pointed at the power socket. "What happens if I pull this plug?" he asked innocently.

Hiro turned his head slowly to glare at him. "I will cut you. Simple as that."

Not letting himself get intimidated, Jack glared back at Hiro. "You're not one of your fancy machines, Hiro. You can't switch a malfunctioning piece on yourself like you do with your fucking computer." He got on his feet. "You gotta take care of your health, buddy."

"You're starting to sound like Hiccup," Hiro mumbled.

"Come on. We gotta get you fed."

Hiro sighed. "It better be fast."

"Yeah, yeah. You won't even have time to miss your computer."

* * *

Hiccup watched his team working together like a proud parent watching their kid's first recital. Anxious, giddy and a bit overwhelmed.

So far, their 'Build Your Own Toy Car' day had gone incredibly well. The team was doing its job, and the kids seemed to be having fun. No one had been injured yet, and the toy making process was proceeding smoothly.

He heard the clicking of a camera going off and gave a two fingers salute at Wilbur, who had been scouted by Violet to help her document the day.

Wilbur approached giving him a pat on the back. "You raised them well, Hics."

Hiccup scratched the back of his neck. "Nah, merit is all theirs."

His proteges had grown superbly and had taken on the day's activity with grace and skill. They explained things patiently and engagingly in a way that it was easy for the kids to understand. The companionship between the pair had also grown visibly, their teamwork allowing them to bond with the orphanage's children. Guy and Tink were funny, and cool, and smart, and genuine, and Hiccup couldn't be prouder.

As they watched the younger two on the team, Hiccup took a moment to look at the children, all in different stages of the toy making lesson. Even at a young age, the children were smart and learned fast. Unlike most adults, their naive curiosity led them to ask questions and try new things. Their energy was refreshing and their excitement was contagious. Oh, Hiccup couldn't wait to come back and teach those kids more.

One child in special caught Hiccup's attention, a scrawny boy with messy blond hair and round glasses. He was incredibly bright and there was something very familiar about the boy. Maybe it was the sparkle of wonder he saw in such young eyes. Maybe he recognized that joy at discovering one's passion for science. Maybe he saw the same gleeful grin at accomplishing a task he saw in every single one of his teammates lit up in that boy's face.

The kid had potential, and Hiccup couldn't even imagine what a bright future the kid had ahead of him.

Hiccup looked around the backyard for the boy in question, and found him hunched over a table scribbling on a piece of paper while he discussed something with Tinkerbell in a hushed tone. "Know what those two are up to?" he asked gesturing with his head at the duo.

Wilbur shrugged. "Something about magnetic force fields to make a floating car."

"Huh." Hiccup scratched his chin, his head filling with hypothesis and theories.

"Oh, I know that look," Wilbur mumbled shaking his head.

"What?" Hiccup asked innocently.

Wilbur pointed at the other guy's face. "You got that 'inventor look' on. Let the kids have fun on their own, Hiccup."

Hiccup sighed. "Maybe you're right."

"And… voila!" Guy's triumphant shout of joy made them look in his direction.

The pair watched as the younger member of their team handed the toy he had been working on to one of the kids around him, and its wheels started spinning, much to the children's excitement. The kid beamed and rushed to the racetrack to play with the other kids as Guy moved on to help the next kid.

"You did an incredible thing today, Hics."

Hiccup turned to Wilbur with a confused look on his face.

"I look around me"—Wilbur opened his arms wide,—"and I see a promising batch of young minds. And you, my friend, have lit that first spark of curiosity on those tiny people."

Hiccup laughed switching his weight from one foot to the other. "I would be happy if that's the case," he said sheepishly.

Wilbur patted his shoulder.

"Hey!" Violet called them from the door. "Come help bring the food to the tables, you unuseful geezers!"

"Duty calls," Wilbur muttered with a heavy sigh.

Hiccup chuckled as the two made their way in the girl's direction. "Doesn't it always?"

* * *

The sign on the door told them that the restaurant was closed, but Jack still knocked on the door nonetheless. He spied the inside through the glass as he waited for someone to come greet them.

"Twenty seven minutes, and counting," Hiro informed with a huff as he tapped his foot on the floor.

Jack rolled his eyes. "We would've been here faster if you had a car."

"I don't need one."

"So don't complain about having to walk places—"

The restaurant's door opened and a tall dark-haired guy stood looking at the two of them with suspicion. "Sorry, but we won't open until night."

"Hey!" Jack straightened up and pointed at the guy. "Eret, right? Is Gobber around?"

Eret nodded. "He is. But I don't think I can let you in to see him."

"Meh." Jack shrugged before squeezing past Eret and making his way inside. He made a gesture for Hiro to follow him. "Consider me an old family friend."

Jack strode through the dining room looking around like he owned the place, leaving behind a pissed off restaurant employee grumbling to himself.

"Gobber!" the silverhead called as he spotted the bulky man hunched over the bar and sitting on a tiny stool.

Gobber spun around on his seat and gave the caller a long, careful look. "Would you look at that?" he wondered standing up. "So you are not dead on a dumping site?"

Jack gave him a lopsided smirk. "Not yet, sir."

Gobber looked at the Asian-American guy wandering awkwardly after Jack.

"Oh, right." Jack stepped to the side so the other two men could face each other. "Gobber, meet Hiro. Uh… Hiccup's partner."

Gobber's eyebrows shot upwards. "I thought Hiccup was going out with my head chef."

The misunderstanding startled the younger two men, making Hiro nearly shout with his eyes wide and jaw clenched tight, "Not like that!"

"Yeah." Jack rubbed the back of his neck. "Partners, as in 'business partners'. You know, the other half of the genius Wonder Twins?"

"Oh." Understanding slowly reached Gobber's brain. "Well, what can I do for you lads today? I have a feeling that this isn't a simple social visit."

"Instincts as sharp as ever, huh, Gobber?"

"Ach, cut the asslicking. You're here for something." The man narrowed his eyes. "What?"

Jack smiled sheepishly. "I was wondering if you could spare these two poor souls"— he gestured between Hiro and himself—"some comfort food?"

Gobber narrowed his eyes and stared at the silverhead for a long moment. Then, he clicked his tongue and threw his arms in the air. "You," he called Eret with a snap of his fingers. "Take them to the kitchen, have whoever's free to put something together for them."

Jack's face lit up. "Thanks, Gobber."

"Bring Hiccup along next time. You scrawny lads should have real food every once in a while."

"Will do," Jack promised the older man as they were lead to the back of the restaurant.

In the kitchen, they could smell the scent of fresh vegetables and raw meat. The team was in full swing prepping for dinner serving time.

Raising his voice so he could be heard over the sounds of scraping metal, cutting and water sprays, Eret announced to the kitchen staff, "Boss said to give these two the leftovers."

Jack slapped him on the shoulder. "That's not exactly what Gobber said, handsome." He looked around the kitchen. "I know you guys are busy, but we would really appreciate it if you could fix us something real quick."

Snotlout was the first to approach him. He sharpened a really big meat knife with an imposing glare in the silverhead's direction.

"Big knife," Jack mused with an eyebrow raised. "Making up for something?"

Snotlout narrowed his eyes. "Some courage you've got to come here after what you've done."

Confusion spread through Jack's face. "What the hell are you talking about, Snotlout?"

"Don't fuck around, dickhead. You think we don't know how you broke—"

The rest of the sentence was lost as Snotlout was hit in the head by a rolling pin. He fell forward, losing balance and dropped his knife on the floor.

Ruff went to retrieve her rolling pin, and with her expression blank and voice emotionless, she said, "Oops, sorry, my hand slipped."

"My knife!"

Snotlout kneeled on the floor and started carefully examining the kitchen utensil for any signs of misuse. With an infuriated glare, he yelled at the female chef, "You! What the hell?"

Ruff pinched his ear making the guy cry in pain. "You will keep your big mouth shut, dumbass," she hissed as she pulled him to the farther corner of the kitchen. "Tuff hasn't noticed that Frost is here so keep it that way."

"Too late for that." Snotlout pointed at an unaware Tuff leaving his station, humming cheerfully with a metal bowl in hands, going straight in the two guests' direction.

"Hey, Tuff," Jack greeted with a wave.

The blond twin squealed, nearly dropping his bowl and rushed back to hide in his station.

Hiro laughed. "What the hell was that?"

Jack shrugged. "Beats me."

"If the two gentlemen are done fooling around," Astrid said as she joined the pair with a plate of food in each of her hands, "it would be nice if you stopped terrorizing the staff."

"Astrid, you are a real lifesaver," Jack admitted as he stared at the pile of pasta and meatballs the woman had placed in front of him.

"As cheap as always, huh, Jack?"

"I'm literally an unemployed couch crusher, and as the term pretty much implies, I'm broke as fuck."

"He says with pride." She shook her head in disbelief. "Anyway, just leave your dishes in the sink when you're finished. We're busy, and I don't have time to humor you any longer."

"Thanks for the food, Hofferson," Jack said in a singsong voice as she left.

"You know," Hiro commented picking his fork and stabbing a meatball. "When you said we were getting food, I didn't think we would have to beg for it."

Jack grunted. "Just shut up and eat it."

* * *

His senses were overstimulated and numb at the same time. He felt disorientated. His eyelids were so heavy that he could hardly keep his eyes open. His hearing felt miles away with only echoes of voices and a constant ringing able to reach him. He felt like he was inhaling lead every time he breathed in. The roughness of fabric hurt his sensitive skin, and the slightest of movements sent him in a spiral of pain and sickness.

A tingling sensation ran up and down his body, and the touch was warm and soothing and made him crave for more. He curled around the source of heat pressing to his side and found comfort in it's softness. A hand caressed his hair, and he felt a blow of hot air on his neck.

He moaned, but he wasn't sure whether he really did so, or if it was just in his head.

He heard giggling, and even in his inebriated state, he could sense that something was off.

He tried to open his eyes again, but all he saw was a blur of misshapen colors. His head fell against the pillow again.

He must have dozed off at some point because he woke up at the sound of voices.

He blinked hard a couple of times to let the blurriness fade. He still felt like a supernova had exploded in his head, but a few things had started to make sense.

Like the faint light of the lamp on the nightstand. Or the dancing smokes coming from a cigarette.

Or the green eyes staring at him from the bedroom's door.

* * *

 **AU in which Doris wins and Cornelius Robinson (and his remaining family-like, Franny probably dies) has to go back to the past to raise bright minds that will help him save the future. Reason behind the scavenger hunt, and also why Wilbur stayed with Hics and Hiro.**


	6. Chapter 6

She would deny it if asked, but Rapunzel may have stayed in the office longer than usual in order to avoid her mother. She stayed behind working extra hours after Elsa, Wasabi, and even Belle had left. But, well, it wasn't like she could sleep in one of the lounge couches, so she decided to head home, dreading the unavoidable encounter all the way there... Not even the silly gifts and messages Eugene had sent her throughout the day helped lessen the fear of having to play the host for the foreseeable future.

It wasn't like she hated her mother, far from it. Rapunzel was in reality very grateful for the woman's efforts in raising a little girl all by herself after the divorce. Surely, Goethel had never been perfect, nor her parenting had been faultless. During her childhood, Rapunzel had learnt the nuances of tough love the hard way. But Goethel was, and would always be her mother.

For good of for worse.

Taking a deep breath to prepare herself for the encounter, she opened her apartment's door.

Rapunzel scrunched her nose at the stench of tobacco in the air. Despite all the previous warnings, her mother had apparently lit up a cigarette inside again.

"Mother?" she called, but no response came.

Warily, she looked around the place, but noticed no movement. What she did notice were other signs of her mother's presence in her apartment. As if the reek of smoke wasn't enough, her mother had also scattered a bunch of clothes all over the living room, and it reminded Rapunzel of a wild predator marking its territory. There was a black and red bra hung over a lamp like some out-of-season Christmas decoration. If that didn't scream lioness, she didn't know what did.

Admonishing her mother's lack of decorum and in dire need of fresh air in the apartment, Rapunzel went to the balcony window and opened it as wide as she could.

Then, she heard her mother's muffled voice coming from her bedroom.

"Mother, how many times have I told you not to smoke in here?" the blonde woman chastised as she made her way to the other room.

Not even an eternity living with the sole company of her mother would prepare her for the scene that unraveled in front of her.

Her mother was naked in the bed with her cigarette holder in hand, blowing rings of gray smoke into the room and chuckling with a sultry voice tone.

... But what actually made her stomach turn was the equally naked man sprawled on the bed next to her mother.

Her goddamn boyfriend.

Goethel seemed to notice her at the door, and blew a smoke ring in her direction. "Oh, Rapunzel, you're home."

Eugene's head propped up from the pillow and he looked at her. His eyes conveyed a mixture of confusion, befuddlement, shame… guilt.

"Blondie…" He mumbled something, but his words slurred together, and his eyelids weighted down over his eyes. He tried to move, but his legs got tangled on the sheets and he collapsed face first on the floor. He groaned, but seemed unable to get up right away.

"Oh, my." Goethel chuckled shaking her head. Then, she looked back at her daughter. "You kept me waiting for so long, darling. Thankfully, your boyfriend was here to keep me company." She flicked her wrist letting cinders fall on the nightstand.

Rapunzel clenched her teeth and glared at the woman. "Get out," she hissed.

If Goethel had heard her daughter, she chose to ignore it.

"You and I share our good taste in men. And here I thought you had too much of your father in you," Goethel scoffed.

Rapunzel snapped. "Get out!" she screamed. "Or I'm calling the cops."

Goethel narrowed her eyes. "Don't be silly, Rapunzel."

Rapunzel grabbed a vase and threw it at the opposite wall. The loud shattering of glass made all three of them jump startled.

"Did I mumble, mother?" Rapunzel asked trying her best to keep her voice calm and stable. "You have sixty seconds to leave."

Eugene attempted to approach her again, and Rapunzel took a step back to keep the distance between them.

She raised her hand pointing her index finger at him. She tried to speak, but no word came. instead, a sob rose to her throat. Not wanting to be seen losing it completely, she left the two with her ultimatum, rushing to the bathroom and locking herself inside. She fell to her knees and covered her ears. She closed her eyes taking heavy gulps of air through her mouth. A choked sob escaped her throat.

She heard fumbling and rustling coming from the other room, but she tried to tune it all out. She didn't want to watch them leaving. She didn't want to see either of them ever again.

As she tried to control her breathing, there was a knock on the door.

"Rapunzel…" Eugene's voice dragged inside.

She screamed for him to leave, but the banging continued.

Anger rang in her ears as she rose to her feet and slowly went to the door.

Eugene had been leaning against the door and stumbled a little as it was open, almost falling over her. Before she could realize, she was holding his arm, and the simple touch made her sick. Quickly, she pushed him away, and she wasn't sure if she pushed him that hard, or if he was that wasted, but he fell back, and looked up at her with the most confused puppy eyes ever.

She clenched her jaw, fists trembling and dizziness shaking her balance. She averted her eyes and took a deep breath. "You should leave, Eugene," she informed him before locking herself in the bathroom door again.

Not long after she collapsed with her head over the toilet, she felt her stomach's content rising up her throat.

She was sweating, her eyes burned with hot tears, her chest felt so tight that it hurt, the sour taste of bile spread through her mouth. She didn't know if it was only in her head, or if it had followed her to the bathroom, but the intoxicating smell of cigarette smoke filled her nostrils.

She wished it was all in her head.

She knew better.

So she threw up again.

* * *

Breakfasts was the most important meal of the day, or so people liked to say. Astrid, as someone who worked in the culinary industry should understand the importance of the meal. But Astrid, being the busy, workaholic person that she was, did not follow the best example of a healthy, nutritional diet. In her case, it was a rather great thing, because her boyfriend truly vouched for the miraculous properties of a nice, warm cup of coffee in the morning. Hiccup too strongly believed that caffeine was all it took to keep the body functioning at the early hours of the day.

That said, the couple could be found in his kitchen enjoying their cups of coffee in a comfortable silence when the guest room door opened, and conversation flowed through the corridor.

"Looks like Frost's got company," Astrid commented.

Already used to his best friend's shenanigans, Hiccup didn't even move his eyes from his tablet as he agreed, "Looks like it."

"How many people has he brought here already?"

Hiccup shrugged. "Dunno. Lost count after the third dozen."

Astrid choked on her beverage, and ran to the sink in a fist of uncontrollable coughs.

"You okay there?" Hiccup asked with concern.

Astrid nodded breathing in and out slowly. She cleared her throat before turning to stare at her boyfriend. "You're kidding."

Hiccup chuckled. "Maybe. But the tally is pretty high."

Two sets of footsteps approached the kitchen, and they were joined by a tall and beautiful couple with silky ebony hair and tanned, flawless skin.

"Oh, boy. There are two of you," in his surprised state, Hiccup blurted out with little tact or discretion.

"You must be Jack's friend. Hi." The unknown male reached out to shake hands with Hiccup. "I'm Aladdin, this is Jasmine."

The girl seemed displeased, and only nodded at the apartment host at the mention of her name.

"We're crossing items off our bucket lists," Aladdin explained as if anyone had questioned them about their presence in the apartment. "Wedding countdown and all..."

"Uh…" Hiccup scratched the back of his neck, his cheeks slightly turning pink . "Congratulations?"

Aladdin beamed. "Thanks "

"We should get going," the girl, Jasmine, said pulling out a pair of sunglasses from her purse. "Father is expecting us for brunch, and I would like to change outfits before that."

The guest couple bade their farewells to the bafflement of both Hiccup and Astrid.

Hiccup sighed dropping his head on his hands and shaking his head. "My best friend is a helpless whore."

"Shouldn't you be giving him an intervention or something?" Astrid asked gesturing at the front door, from where Jack's new acquaintances had left.

Hiccup snorted. "As if I have any control over Jack's actions."

"What about Jack's actions?" the silverhead asked as he joined the couple in the kitchen.

Hiccup jumped startled. "Oh, nothing. We were just wondering what lies ahead in the schedule of a satyromaniac like you."

Jack laughed as he walked to the coffee pot. "My, my, Hiccup. Looking for some tips?"

Hiccup hummed rubbing his hands and fidgeting on his seat. "Yeah, forget that. So, what are your plans for today?"

"I was thinking about finding some royalty person to court and start my thirty days plan to become ruler of a small country somewhere..."

Astrid choked again, making Jack scowl grossed out, and Hiccup patted her back worriedly.

"Sounds like a busy day!" Hiccup said, his voice growing high and strangled.

Jack narrowed his eyes as he stared at the suddenly jumpy and awkward auburn-haired guy. He sighed.. "Okay, spill. What's up with you?"

"Nothing is up with me." Hiccup shrugged with exaggerated nonchalance. "What makes you think that anything is up with me?"

Astrid facepalmed, groaning and shaking her head negatively.

Jack chuckled. "Wow. Your acting skills bewilder me."

"My actings skills are fine, thank you very much," Hiccup protested with a pout. "But since you're so curious, I should inform you that your uncle called me. Apparently, you've been ignoring his calls."

Jack groaned. "It's too early for that."

"He asked how you were doing," Hiccup commented.

"Mmhmm…"

Hiccup looked down and started playing with the rim of his mug. "And he asked if I had updates on your writing career."

Jack glanced at the other guy from over his shoulder. "And what did you tell him?"

"That…" Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck. "You were working on it."

Jack nodded giving a thumbs-up. "Nice."

"Shouldn't you, like… actually start writing?" Astrid asked with little patience for the parental encouraging her boyfriend presented.

Jack glared at the blonde with an exaggerated scorn. "Well, if you must know, Astrid, I actually plan on arranging a meeting about a deal today."

Hiccup's eyes lit up. "Like a book deal?"

"No, dumbass, like a private army buying deal." Jack rolled his eyes. "Of course it's a book deal."

"That's great news!" Hiccup jumped from his seat clapping, and waving his arms, and fist-bumping in the air. "I'm so proud of you, Jack."

Jack couldn't stop himself from bursting out in laughter. "Thanks, Third. Your recognition is very reassuring to my humble self."

"Hoo boy, this deserves some celebration!"

"It's not like he's sealed any deal already…" Astrid commented.

"You!" Hiccup pointed at Astrid accusingly. "I love you, Astrid, but keep your negativity to yourself, please."

Hiccup clapped once more and pointed at Jack, then at Astrid as he walked backwards from the kitchen. "Grab your coats, kids, today we feast!"

Jack pressed a hand to his face. "Will you drop the weird dad act? It's really starting to piss me off."

Astrid nodded. "Second that."

Hiccup rushed to take his dog's leash. "Come on, Toothless, were going out!"

Hiccup excitedly left the apartment, leaving the other two to comply with his wishes and follow after him in defeat.

* * *

The first time he saw her, she was painting under the shadow of a tree, the wind making her hair dance and rays of light hitting the golden strands just in the right angle to make it look like it was glowing. She had the cutest frown on her face as she concentrated on her drawing, and he felt compelled to know her.

A little bit of scheming later, Maui was hitting her with a soccer ball, and he was rushing to apologize.

She yelled at him and slammed her sketchbook on his nose. He saw spots and couldn't move because of the pain.

They met again on the same park a few times after that. He kept apologizing, she kept pushing him away. But little by little, they got closer to each other.

He remembered when she called him by his name for the first time. He didn't like his name, but it sounded so nice when she said it.

He remembered her laugh. So cheerful and a little bit child-like. As bright as a ray of sunshine breaking through dark clouds of rain.

After that, everything got mixed up together. A bunch of memories, and a bunch of images that he wasn't sure were real. Her whispering of his name became gradually weaker and weaker, laughter made his skull vibrate, he saw flashes and felt touches that didn't make sense, his head was about to explode…

Then, it all stopped.

He came back to his senses slowly, taking notice of the pain in his skull, the dryness of his mouth, the soreness of his muscles, the weird angle of his neck, the sounds of birds chirping and car engines rumbling… He flinched when he tried to open his eyes and the clarity was too much. As his vision adjusted, his brain put together that he had slept in a park bench—the same one from his dream—curled up in a ball and hugging his shoes to his chest. And shirtless.

He slowly sat up stretching his arms above his head, and felt several joints cracking as he did so. He sighed, rotating his neck and shoulders. He heard his phone ringing, so he followed its noise. It had fallen under the bench at some point, and was signaling an incoming call.

Eugene picked it up, and the soreness of his throat hurt when he first spoke, "Hello?"

 _"What the fuck, Flynn?"_ Merida yelled in his ear, and he had to push the phone away from him.

She could still hear Merida venting on. _"I've been trying to call you all night, digass."_

He put the phone on his ear again and leaned over with his forearms on his thighs. He noticed some purple marks on his bare skin, and as he rotated his arm, he read 'Château de la Bête' and what looked like a phone number written there.

"Red," he mumbled quietly.

 _"You call me in the middle of the night, say you fucked up, and then go MIA."_ He heard a loud bang from the other side of the line, as if she had hit something, and then Merida cursed in pain. _"I even went to your place. Great time talking to a door!"_

"Red…" he repeated rubbing his eyelids tiredly.

 _"What the fuck happened to you?"_

"I—"

He wasn't sure.

He tried to recollect the previous night's happenings, but everything was hazy and confusing and weird. He pressed his free hand to his forehead, and his head hurt as the memories came back, too slowly and too quickly at the same time.

He remembered going to Rapunzel's apartment with groceries, he remembered meeting Goethel, he remembered drinking a glass of wine with her, he remembered them switching to scotch, he remembered it burning his inside, and he remembered the bitter and icky taste in his mouth. He remembered her sitting closer to him and sliding her fingers up his arm. He remembered chills. He remembered kisses and touched and giggles.

Oh, God.

He remembered yelling, and glass shattering, and stumbling out.

But what he remembered with most clarity were her eyes burning with anger and betrayal.

"Red… I screwed up."

There was a pause. And he didn't know if his friend could hear the defeat in his words, but Merida let out the most disappointed sigh he had heard in his life.

 _"Stay where you are, Flynn,"_ she said. _"We'll talk over coffee and carbs."_

He thanked her, then looked back down at his naked torso. "Merida?"

Merida's voice was sympathetic and a bit pitying, _"Yeah?"_

"Can you get me a shirt?"

* * *

Edna Mode was a name to be reckoned with in the fashion world. Her trajectory was widely well-known, from her debut as a designer and breathtaking collections presented in Paris and Milan, to the sudden closing down of her brand after stating that she had grown bored of dressing supermodels, or in her words, 'spoiled, stupid little stick figures with puffy lips who think only about themselves', and the recent venturing into the literature world. She was currently the director of the fashion publications in the Walt-Katzenberg group.

Rapunzel had followed Edna's work from a young age, spending her small allowance on magazines and reading every article about, or signed by her she could find. And as a fashion aficionada, she had been beyond thrilled when she was assigned to help Edna Mode in her debut book.

But that morning, not even the prospect of a meeting with Madame Mode helped uplift her spirit.

Rapunzel had even considered calling in sick, but as much as she didn't feel like going to work and pretending that nothing had happened, she still hated staying inside her apartment even more.

So she went to the office. She came in late, just minutes before her meeting so she wouldn't have to face her desk mates.

She exchanged hasty greetings with Wasabi and Elsa, and used her meeting as an excuse to leave her desk. She knew they would sense something was wrong—how her eyes were swollen from crying, how her skin was pale and ashy from not sleeping, how her usual cheerful demeanor had been replaced by sorrow and pain.

Edna was already waiting for her in one of hall's sofas with a cup or coffee in hands.

Rapunzel hurriedly apologized for her lateness, but the other woman just waved her off and gestured for her to sit down. The blonde did as she was told, and they quickly proceeded to talking business.

"I read the chapter you sent me," Rapunzel said as she took a stack of papers from a folder.

"I would have hoped you to do so," Edna replied.

"So the girl... she made up with Thurman, huh?" Rapunzel mumbled as she went through her notes.

"It is a romance," Edna replied with a flicker of her hand. "And I figured a bit of service would please the fans."

"Don't you think you should take the protagonist's feelings more into consideration?" A strangled sob left the blonde's throat.

Edna shot the editor a disbelieving growl. "And you think you know my characters better than I do?"

Rapunzel shrugged. "Sometimes it's hard to forgive betrayal."

Edna kept staring at her in a mixture of incredulity and curiosity, so Rapunzel continued, "I-I mean, she deserves to throw a tantrum, and be childish, and cry, and don't make sense. She is goddamn hurt, she's been thrown under the bus by the person she dreamed of spending her entire life with!"

"Okay, calm down, darling." Edna uncrossed and crossed her legs. "I have no idea what kind of emotional bullshit you are carrying right now, but you are not being reasonable."

"I AM CALM," the blonde shouted nearly jumping off her seat, then lowered her voice to add, "And I'm telling you that your audience won't relate to the protagonist if she just wings it like it's no big deal."

Edna sighed. "And I'm saying that the female breakdown and drama accompanied by it are unnecessary to the plot."

The editor let out a strangled laugh. "Sure, it's just what it is, isn't it? Unnecessary drama? Just me being too emotional? I should just get over it, right? I mean, we weren't even that serious, and Mother… I should have expected something like that from her, right? Mother knows no boundaries."

As Rapunzel's rambling continued, her voice increased in volume and in pitch, and by the time she stopped for air, she was sobbing so loudly that even her boss had poked his head out from his office to see what the commotion was about.

"I—" Rapunzel choked out, her hand running to her mouth and tears forming in her eyes. "I'm sorry, I have to go—"

She dashed out of there, her vision so blurry that she could hardly see. She ended up bumping into someone.

"Hey there," a male voice said, and she had to blink the moist away to identify a mop of silver head. "Sorry... Rapunzel, right?"

She said nothing more as she dashed to the bathroom.

Unaware to her, many eyes follower her retreat, from her colleagues, to the publisher's writers, to the random visitor they had that morning. Wasabi and Elsa even stood up to go after her, but hesitated, torn between going after their distressed companion, or doing damage control in the hall.

Jack Frost looked around, confusions written all over his face.

"... What happened to Sunshine?"

* * *

Hiccup was not in the office, but he head dropped his dog off on his way to Ant Island so the rest of the team could work on the voice emulators project. Hiro and Guy had set up an improvised work station on the floor and tweaked with the collar around Thoothless' neck. Guy had taken a break and lied on the floor cross-legged and with his arms stretched above his head, leaving Hiro to work on his own.

As his wrists started to scream at him, Hiro sighed dropping his tools on the floor, and leaned back on his hands. He let out a frustrated sigh.

Toothless looked at him tilting his head to the side.

"Don't look at me like that, you big pile of fur," Hiro grumbled.

"How's the collar going?" Wilbur asked offering each of the engineers a mug of coffee.

Hiro accepted the beverage with a mumbled thanks. "It's not going."

Wilbur rubbed his chin giving the dog a once-over "Maybe you need some fresh eyes on it. Want me to call my dad?"

Hiro let out an annoyed snort. He glowered at the lawyer as he said, "Yeah, and you might as well go pack your things after that, because you ask Cornelius Robinson for help, you're fired."

Wilbur raised his hands in surrender as he walked back to his desk. "Alright, alright. It was only a suggestion."

Guy slurped on his coffee, but immediately stopped at the threatening glare his boss shot him. "Who thought reading dogs' minds would be so hard?" he blurted out to fill in the silence.

"Do keep working hard, gentlemen," Violet said making circles with her pen in their direction. "Dog collars that help the visually impaired will look great on our resume."

"Whatever happened to doing our best for a better world," Tink mumbled from behind her computer screen.

Violet turned to stare at the younger girl with a frown. "Hey, I'm a philanthropist as much as the next person, honey, and I don't see why we can't savor the fruits of our success while we're helping a good cause."

Tink shook her head and sighed dramatically. "I miss Hiccup."

"It hasn't been one day," Wilbur reminded the girl.

Tink laughed with contempt. "Yeah, and look at the money-thirsty, recognition-oriented, white-collared corporative assholes we're becoming."

"Work, Tinkerbell, is what you're paid to do," Hiro said matter-of-factly. "Not to preach about your heart-sobbing idealism."

The blonde girl rolled her eyes. "Yes, sir," she said forcefully before returning her attention to her screen.

Guy sighed.

Hiro narrowed his eyes and threateningly swung a screwdriver in his employee's face. "If you say you miss Hiccup too, I'm gonna make you do inventory on your own."

Guy shrugged. "All I was gonna say is that Hiccup brings us snacks."

"Inventory duty, kid. For the next three months."

Guy pulled the blueprint and the notebook computer, and started working while grumbling under his breath about Hiccup being the nice boss and how unfair it was that he got stuck working with the moody one…

"What was that?" Hiro asked.

"Nothing!" Guy said with fake innocence. "I was just saying that you are an amazing boss and that I am blessed to have the opportunity to learn from someone as brilliant and smart as you, sir!"

Hiro laughed. "Nice save." He put his evil boss glare back on. "Now get back to work. Your adulation is less impressive than your welding skills."

"Which is to say something, Guy, because you're the worst welder in history."

* * *

Eugene's hair was still damp from the shower Merida made him take.

They went to a diner, and she paid for his eggs and bacon. He ate little, mostly moving the food around his plate as he tried to voice out loud the happenings from the night before. Their talk ended up being very one-sided, Merida being unprepared to advice him in such unexpected predicament. She mostly listened as Eugene melted down and rambled about him being an idiot and having screwed up the best thing in his damn life.

Merida had only voiced her opinion when he stated his plans to go see Rapunzel. She stopped him from rushing to the publisher, stating that she would rather not have the city quarantined because of his stench. Surely, he wasn't in his top shape, but he guessed Red was exaggerating at least a little.

But she had a point, so he returned to his place and took a hasty shower, put on some clean clothes, and headed down the streets straight to the publishers building. He slid through the double doors before they fully opened and leaned over the reception desk, his breathing heavy and eyes burning with decision.

"I need to talk to Rapunzel Corona," he said to the guy on the other side of the counter.

The guy scrunched his nose. "Ew, you're dripping sweat all over the place." He held a tissue paper with two fingers and offered it to Eugene.

Eugene took the tissue and wiped his face and neck with it.

"I need to talk to Rapunzel Corona," he repeated.

"Alright, alright." The receptionist picked the phone. "Which floor is she at?"

Eugene shrugged. "I don't know, she's an editor at the book publisher."

The receptionist hummed as he dialed a number and waited.

"Mavis, my doll, Kuzko here. I have a guy looking for a miss Rapunzel Corona."

There was a pause while Kuzko waited. Then, he placed his hand on the phone's speaker and asked Eugene, "What's your name?"

"Eugene Fitzherbert."

The receptionist repeated his name and waited once more.

"Okay," Kuzko said after a while. "Thanks, honey." He hung up and raised his eyes to look at Eugene. "Yeah, she doesn't want to see you."

"What?" Eugene shook his head. "No, you don't understand, I have to see her!"

Kuzko shrugged. "I'm sorry buddy, that's just life, I guess…"

Feeling the blood rising to his head, Eugene reached across the counter and grabbed the receptionist by the collar making him squeal in fright. "Listen here, you little dipshit—"

Kuzko looked around and snapped his fingers. "Security?" he sang.

Before Eugene could understand what was happening, he felt himself being lifted off the ground by the arms. "What the—" He looked over his shoulders and found two burly men carrying him to the doors. "Let go of me!" He yelled. "Let me just talk to her."

Kuzko wiggled his fingers in a farewell gesture. "Buh-byee!"

"Alright, alright, I got it!" Eugene freed himself from the security guards, but they crossed their arms and blocked the door to stop him from entering again.

Eugene ran a hand though his face muffling a groan. What was he supposed to do now? He tried to call Rapunzel, but it went straight to voicemail. He kicked the ground shouting curses and grumbling to himself. At some point, he stopped and looked up at the sky, as if waiting for some divine guidance.

It was then that he was reminded of something, and pulled his shirt's sleeves up. The purple scribbles were gone, but he at least remembered the hotel's name.

He might as well go after some answers.

* * *

Rapunzel pretended her meltdown hadn't happened. After a session of crying and frustrated venting out in the bathroom, she returned to her desk with bleary-eyes, but her head held high. Wasabi had stuck a Post-It note on her monitor saying that Edna expected their meeting to be rescheduled once Rapunzel had recovered some of her emotional control, and Rapunzel wrote a note on her planner to do just that.

As she tried to get some work done, she ended up staring blankly at her monitor, thinking about nothing and everything at once.

"... Helen, thank you for being such an angel," she heard Wasabi saying on the phone, and his fairly excited voice brought her back to her senses.

She looked up from her computer and watched as her cheerful co-worker ended his call.

"Things going well?" Rapunzel asked as Wasabi put his phone down.

Wasabi hummed positively. "Helen's cover samples are ready, so she's coming here to pick one tomorrow."

Rapunzel smiled, genuinely happy for him. "That's great, Wasabi."

Wasabi thanked her, but his concern spoke louder, and he found himself asking, "You okay, girl?"

Rapunzel shrugged. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"... That so?" The guy asked skeptically.

Rapunzel shrugged. "I mean, it's so stupid, isn't it? Look at you"—she pointed at him,—"you're moving on with your next book, which we all know will sell like water, Elsa is in there"—Rapunzel pointed in the direction of the meeting rooms—"drafting a contract with Frost, and here I am, screwing it all up." She passed the Post-It note from her computer screen to her index finger and waved it in Wasabi's direction. "I'm helping Edna Freaking Mode write her very first book. I'm supposed to be having the time of my life, and I blew it."

The male editor shook his head. "You're overreacting."

Rapunzel leaned back stretching her arms over her head. "I'm pretty sure the Big Bad Boss just didn't fire me yet because he's scared I'll rip his head off with my nails if he tries."

"That's nonsense." Wasabi chuckled. "Pitch knows Edna wouldn't accept an editor she didn't think was competent for the job. She trusts you, Rapunzel."

"Yeah, and look what I did with all that trust." Rapunzel sighed. "Maybe it's time I quit the publishing gig."

Wasabi craned his neck over his monitor to stare at her with narrowed eyes. "You better not be serious right now."

Rapunzel slid down in her chair, hiding herself from the guy as she mumbled incoherently about her lack of skills and her making a fool of herself in front of everyone.

"You just need a little break," Wasabi added. "How about a night out?"

Rapunzel rubbed her temples. "I don't know…"

Elsa's voice made them stop talking for a moment. "I will contact you as soon as our legal department is done, Mr. Frost," they heard her saying.

Rapunzel looked around for her cousin, and as it seemed, the meeting with that Frost guy was over, and Elsa was walking him through the office. She took a moment to watch their interactions.

"Please do," Jack said smiling at Elsa.

"In the meantime, I will have Vidia help me with your profile, and I will send you the final draft for approval."

Jack winked. "I trust you, Miss Arendelle, and I give you full autonomy to choose whatever you think is best."

Rapunzel had to repress her gagging noises as the other two walked past the editors area.

"I'll still send it for a final check," Elsa's voice carried after her.

"Can you believe that guy?" Rapunzel rolled her eyes.

Wasabi chuckled, but didn't comment on her indignation. "Hey!" He waved as Elsa came back. "How was the meeting?"

"Alright, I suppose," she said making her way to her desk. "Not like it was an official meeting or anything."

"But he's signing with is?" Rapunzel asked.

Elsa shrugged. "Looks like it."

"Well, that totally calls for some drinks. What do you ladies say?"

"Sorry, I have a party to attend with Belle tonight," Elsa replied with a scowl.

Wasabi snorted. "Look at you fancy ladies." He looked at Rapunzel. "What about you, Miss Corona?"

"Yeah…" Rapunzel tucked her hair behind her ear. "I think I'll pass. I should clean up my apartment and all that…"

Rapunzel could feel wasabi's eyes on her, she could even feel Elsa's concern hitting her in waves, and she tried to keep a strong front.

"I do think that a night out could be a good change of pace," Elsa admitted. "Perhaps when we're all free."

Wasabi nodded. "I'll hold you to that."

They waited for Rapunzel's reply, and she swallowed to ease the knot that had formed on her throat. She had to force a smile, but tried to sound genuine as she said, "Yeah. It's a date."

* * *

Goethel wasn't in her room when he got to the hotel, so he left a message with the receptionist saying that he would be waiting for her at the bar. He waited for hours, but no signs of her. Or maybe it just felt like hours.

The bar was empty, and the bartender kept glancing at him with contempt. _It was a little too early for drinking._

He had considered ordering a drink to ease his nerves, but he was still a bit hungover, and his previous experience mixing that woman and alcohol stopped him from doing so. Instead, he kept reading the drinks menu to kill time, and his sense of wariness immediately peaked up at the sound of heels clicking loudly against the floor.

Eugene looked up.

Goethel walked in his direction wearing a black and red number and a scarily predatory smirk on her red purple-painted lips.

"Ugh, this place is so depressing," she said looking around the room with disgust. "Why don't we change our meeting to my room, darling?" she asked grabbing his face with her long nails and turning him for a kiss.

Eugene moved away in time to avoid her lips. "Yeah, this gloomy old bar works just fine," he mumbled wiggling away from her. "Take a seat."

Goethel looked at him with an arched eyebrow and an indignant pout on her lips. She hummed as she took the seat across from him. "So what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

"I wanted to ask you about last night."

Goethel rummaged her purse for her cigarette package and lighter. "What about it?" she asked with one cigarette between her lips.

Eugene glowered at her. "Are you kidding me?"

She put her elbows on the table and rested her chin against the back of her hand. She blew a cloud of smoke in his face, watching him in silence.

He had to hold his breath, and his eyes burnt, but his expression didn't falter as he kept glaring at her. "I'm your daughter's goddamn boyfriend."

Goethel kept lazily looking at him, as if that conversation bored her immensely. She waved at a bartender asking for a gimlet, and Eugene slammed the table to get the woman's attention.

"I am talking to you," he said through gritted teeth.

Goethel sighed leaning back and crossing her legs. "Those wrinkles on your forehead will ruin your pretty face, handsome."

Eugene crossed his arms across his chest, silently demanding her to talk.

Her drink arrived, and she downed half of it in one breath. "I don't see why acknowledging the good looks of her toy boy threatens me and my daughter's relationship."

"Because it's fucked up," Eugene shouted indignantly.

Goethel rolled her eyes. "Morals. I find them outdated and useless. They take out all the fun in life."

Eugene pressed his hands over his temples. "Rapunzel won't even see me now."

"Well, my daughter has always been an unadventurous girl," Goethel said with a shrug. "I blame her excuse of a father—and his new pristine wife for that."

Eugene felt drained. Their conversation wasn't going anywhere, no matter which path he took. "I love her."

Goethel grunted blowing another cloud of smoke. "Love is a constructed lie. And even if it wasn't, how is your 'love'"—she made air quotations with her fingers—"helping you solve your little dilemma now?"

He gritted his teeth, and his hands curled into fists. "You don't know anything about me or my feelings," he snarled.

"Maybe. But what do you know about my daughter's? Your bond was so easily broken, who's to say I didn't do both of you a favor in the long run?"

Eugene shook his head. "You—you drugged me, I was out of my senses, I didn't know what I was doing!"

"You blame me for enjoying yourself?" She laughed throwing her head back. "I took off your inhibitions, sure, sue me for that. But be a man and own everything that came after that."

"I…" His mouth dried, and he couldn't find the words to speak.

"You've made your bed, darling, but do keep blaming me if it helps you sleep at night."

She chugged the rest of her drink before getting on her feet. With a final wink at him, she turned on her heels.

"Call me when you're up for dirtying the sheets again."

* * *

The team had gotten rid of all his energy drinks, and Violet had locked their coffee machine inside a cabinet and went home in possession of the key.

 _It's for your own good,_ they had said.

 _Bullshit,_ he had replied, but they ignored his indignant shouts and complaints, and left him to sulk.

With the traitors gone, Hiro found himself alone in the office, caffeine-less, cranky, and with a great load of work he had put in his head he had to finish before being able to go home. Surely, he could go to any coffee shop and get a decent enough beverage, but he had made a promise to his teammates that he would not cheat. And Hiro liked to keep his promises, even when there was no one else watching him.

The caffeine withdrawal was making him feel like a hungover teenager: unfocused, lethargic, sleepy, and craving carbs. So he ordered a pepperoni pizza and beer and waited patiently for the delivery guy, tapping his finger against his desk and staring at nothing it in a state of semi-death. Not soon enough to his liking, his dinner arrived, and he dragged himself downstairs to get it. He was curt, but he chipped generously, so he didn't feel that bad about it.

As he waited on the elevator to go back to the office, someone shouted, "Hold the door!"

And he did.

A tiny woman with a bouncy dark ponytail walked in with a breathless smile of gratitude. "Thanks."

"No problem," he mumbled as the elevator's door closed.

The smell of pizza filled the space, and it felt awkward to be there with that unknown woman. Hiro didn't have the energies to do small talk, and the girl didn't say anything, so they remained in silence, with all the awkwardness and the scent of marinara sauce surrounding them.

Silence was finally broken when the woman pointed at Hiro's box and confessed, "I haven't had a Pizza Planet pizza since I was a kid."

He shrugged. "Same. But their delivery is fast."

She hummed, then added, "So you're from that new office on the sixth, huh?"

"I am. And I'm guessing you work at the game company on the eleventh." He gestured with his head in the direction of the elevator panel and its lit numbers.

"Your guess is correct." She looked at him and held out her right hand. "I'm Vanellope."

Hiro looked down at his hands—one holding the pizza box, the other holding a six pack of beer. "Uh…"

Vanellope chuckled retreating her hand and apologized.

"I'm Hiro," he said, and they got to his floor. "Nice meeting you, Vanellope."

"See you around, Space Ranger." She gave him a two-fingers salute and a wink.

Before he could stop himself, he was putting his arm out to stop the elevator from leaving.

"Would you… like to accompany me? For dinner?" he asked moving the pizza box up and down.

Vanellope grinned a bi grin that showed all her teeth.

"Are you kidding me? How can I say no to Pizza Planet?"

* * *

Belle had insisted they went to the party together, partly because she didn't want to leave Elsa alone in a party she probably didn't know anyone else, and partly because Belle herself didn't want to be alone in a party she _almost_ didn't know anyone else. They stood in a corner together, wearing their fancy dresses and even fancier makeup, trying to blend in and spend an uneventful night.

Gaston was called to give his speech, and Elsa could feel her friend trying to merge with the wallpaper as they listened to him praising his own glories and the crowd roaring in delight.

If Elsa was to be honest, she would say that she was awfully unimpressed. Gaston was a burly and brawny man whose muscles were only rivaled in size by his inflated ego. His speech was empty and borderline boring, and she could only imagine how it translated into his writing.

By the time the speech was done, and the other guests moved to greet the author, Elsa excused herself to head to the toilet.

In the bathroom, she rummaged her tiny clutch for her lipstick, taking her phone and other miscellaneous items out in the process. Elsa was reapplying her makeup when another woman came in, and she had to stop herself from staring, because she recognized the woman: a pale petite brunette that looked much like a walking porcelain doll.

The real-size porcelain doll smiled politely at Elsa before walking to a stall, and the blonde felt the urge to flee and avoid prolonging what had everything to be a very awkward encounter.

Her plans to leave unnoticed were ruined, though, when a voice echoed around her.

 _"Excuse me, would you mind helping me?"_

"Y-yeah?" Elsa looked at the locked stall through the mirror, panic rising and red coloring her cheeks.

 _"It seems that there's no paper in here…"_

"Oh." Elsa shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Just a second."

She went to the other stall and slid a roll of toilet paper through the door.

 _"Thank you very much."_

"You're welcome."

Elsa felt herself sweating in apprehension. She looked back at the fancy, cluttered-up sink, at her scattered belongings, then at the exit door, five steps from her. _Would it be too rude if she suddenly made a run for it?_

"I've seen you around before," the woman said. _"You work for the Guardians, don't you?"_

Elsa pressed her lips together, feet frozen in place. "I-I do. And you're Snow White. I've…" _Googled you before,_ were the words that came to her mind, but instead, she said, "seen you before as well."

Snow White chuckled, and it was such a sweet and gentle sound that Elsa felt herself melting a little. _"Well, it's nice to meet you… uhm..."_

"Elsa," the blonde immediately informed. "Elsa Arendelle."

 _"Nice to meet you, Elsa."_

Elsa smiled. "Nice to meet you, too."

 _"Are you enjoying the party?"_ The brunette's question was followed by a flushing sound.

"I am." Elsa nodded as she hurriedly packed her belongings. "Thank you for inviting us."

Snow White opened the stall door and smiled at Elsa. "Of course."

"I don't wanna sound rude, but my friend is waiting for me," Elsa said attempting to hide the fluster in her voice.

"How inconsiderate of me!" Snow White gestured at the exit. "Please, don't let me hold you here."

"Congratulation on the launch." Their eyes met one last time through the glass.

"Oh, thank you!"

She stormed out of the bathroom before a new topic could arise. Making her way back to the ballroom, she started to feel silly, and couldn't wait to laugh about her unexpected toilet encounter with Belle.

Elsa looked around the area for Belle, and missed her the first time. Being more careful on her second check, she spotted her friend fairly hidden behind two tall guys. From his roaring voice, Elsa easily identified one of the guys as the star of the night. The other one had his back turned to her, so she had no clue who he could be.

Belle noticed her walking towards the group, and the brunette's face lit up.

Elsa! Welcome back." Belle gave room for the blonde in the circle, and seemed to notice some remnants of Elsa's restlessness, because she asked with concern, "Is something the matter?"

"No, I—" The rest of her sentence was lost as she finally took a look at the unknown part of their party. Elsa gulped hard, her eyes shifting around the room in panic. "I… met Snow White."

"Oh, Snow White, what a lovely lady," Gaston exclaimed, his buoyant voice carrying far into the room. "But nod as lovely as you, my dearest Belle."

Gaston winked at Belle, and she gave him a forced smile in reply.

"Was that a good encounter?" Belle asked, worry still present on her voice.

Elsa shifted on her feet. "Yes, very pleasant."

"Belle, may I ask who this wonderful friend of yours is?"

"My co-worker Elsa," Belle informed not sparing him another look.

"Congratulations on your book," Elsa said quickly, eyes still avoiding the other guy.

"Thank you." Gaston snapped his fingers twice and a copy of his biography was handed to him. He cleared his throat and clicked his pen. "To Elsa, a true beauty. But no beauty rivals yours, my dear Belle."

Elsa smiled as she accepted the autographed book, though her smile only reached the corner of her lips. She made the mistake to glimpse in _his_ direction, and she stopped breathing when their eyes met.

"Good evening, Elsa," he said.

Her teeth clenched. "Hans."

"Long time no see."

"Can't say it's unfortunate," she mumbled.

Hans laughed eagerly. "Oh, Elsa. I see you haven't lost your humor."

"You two know each other?" Belle asked.

Elsa nodded. "You could say that."

"It's like people say," Gaston said with a smirk on his lips. "Attractive people attract attractive people."

Hans chuckled and patted his friend on the shoulder. "Indeed they do."

Belle touched the blonde's elbow discreetly, and her concerned expression made Elsa feel guilty.

Elsa rubbed her friend's knuckles in a comforting way with a reassuring smile and a silent 'we'll talk later'.

"How is Anna?" Hans asked.

Elsa gave him her best professional smile. "Great. Better now that she's ridden herself of the leeches in her life."

"My, my." Hans chuckled. "If I didn't know better, I'd say someone is still a bit sour about the past."

The blonde's smile didn't falter. "Whatever gave you that idea?"

"Well, would you mind sharing the story between you two?" Gaston requested with an arched eyebrow.

"You see—"

Belle quickly interrupted Hans.

"That will have to wait." She hooked her arm around Elsa's. "There's Grimhilde."

Elsa nodded. "Right. We should go greet her before she gets too much to drink."

The girls hastily excused themselves and moved towards their boss' rival. Elsa even waved at Snow White cheerfully.

"I don't know about you, but I have never been happier to talk to Grimhilde," Belle whispered as soon as they were out of ears reach.

Elsa laughed shaking her head. "I usually condemn drinking at work," she said with a sigh. "But I would make an exception tonight."

 _"Ne m'en parles pa!"_

* * *

The first thing she got rid of were the groceries Eugene had probably bought the night before. She felt bad for wasting things, so she sorted through the bags from the still useful items. Her chest tightened as she realized he was planning a celebration for them.

Her heart constricted even more when she realized it was supposed to be their anniversary celebration.

She popped the champagne bottle open, and chugged straight from the bottle. She told herself that the alcohol helped a little. But not even a barrel of booze would be enough to ease the pain she felt.

Every time she found an item of his, she had to stop for a moment because memories of them together would flood her mind, and she would feel dizzy and overwhelmed, and it would become too hard to breathe. She found one of his SD cards, and maybe three quarters of the bottle in, she took a break from her cleaning spree, and, against her better judgement, popped the device on her notebook computer. She knew she shouldn't do it, but curiosity won, and regret followed.

She could've sworn she had run out of tears, but it didn't seem to be the case. She muffled her sobs with the sleeve of her sweater as she looked through the pictures.

They were all photos of her. Of her cooking, of her brushing her teeth, of her waking up, of her fallen asleep curled against the couch's arm. It was like a diary of Eugene's memories of her. The fancy and dressed up her, the romantic her, the silly her, the clumsy her, the tired her, the angry her, the sad her, all of her facets were recorded in such a private and emotional way that she couldn't take it.

She shut the computer, but the images were already embedded in her mind. She felt herself shaking and curled up on the floor, closing her eyes and trying to shut the rest of the world out. Her throat hurt and she felt like screaming, but she didn't have the strength to do so.

She didn't know how long she stayed like that. All she knew was that her phone started to ring and she wobbly got up to find it.

She sucked in a breath as she read the caller's name.

Anna was calling. And she didn't know if she should be glad about it or not.

She rushed to the balcony, and the cool air helped lessen her panic attack. She cleared her throat to get rid of the cry-ness in her voice before accepting the call.

She had barely put the device on her ear, and Anna was already speaking at the speed of fifteen words per second.

 _"Hello, cousin dear. I'm calling on behalf of my bachelorette party. Yes, I know Elsa said she wouldn't do one, but come on, how many times am I gonna get married, am I right? Uh… hopefully just one. So! You think we can trick Elsa into entering a strip club? You in there, Punzie?"_

Rapunzel chuckled weakly, feeling a weight being lifted off her chest. She leaned against the railing and absentmindedly watched the street.

"Yes, Anna. I'm here." Despite her efforts, Rapunzel's voice still came out a little shaky and hoarse. She was almost certain Anna could hear it from the other side of the line as well.

And sure enough, there was a quick pause, then Anna asked, her voice more sober and less enthusiastic, _"What happened?_ "

Rapunzel opted for avoiding the other girl's question by throwing one of her own. "Did Elsa tell you to call?"

 _"No. Only time I talked to my sister today was to ask whether pregnant women could eat cashew nuts or not. Why?"_

Rapunzel frowned. "... Is there anything you forgot to tell us?"

 _"What do you mean?"_

"Do I have to adjust your wedding dress for a baby bump?"

 _"What—"_ Anna let out a forced laugh. _"No. W—What? I was—I was talking about one of my co-workers. You know, Tooth, I talked about her a hundred times. She's pregnant, and I had a whole bag of cashew nuts. And I texted Elsa asking if it would be too rude of me to offer some or not."_

Rapunzel laughed. "Alright, alright. I got it."

 _"... I'm not pregnant."_

"I believe you."

 _"So…"_ Anna hesitated. _"What happened?"_

Rapunzel sighed. Telling Elsa had been easier, what with the wave of uncontrollable anger and her psychotic crisis. She just blurted out everything in one breath and laughed like a maniac later. Now that she was emotionally drained, she couldn't bring herself to open up. Especially not when it meant she might burst the bubble of excitement and happiness that was Anna.

"Let's just say that you can cross Eugene off your wedding list," Rapunzel said, trying to add as much humor as she could into her voice.

 _"Are you okay?"_ Anna groaned, then mumbled, _"Of course you're not okay. That was a dumb question."_

Rapunzel chuckled tiredly. "It's so stupid. Everything is so stupid. I hate that I feel this way." She sat on the floor and looked up at the sky, the stars shone dimly, obscured by the city lights.

 _"It's okay to feel shitty when… life sucks."_

Rapunzel felt bad that Anna had to speak so vaguely. She closed her eyes. "I caught Eugene and my mother in bed together."

Anna gasped, and there was the sound of glass shattering. _"Shit."_

"Are you okay?"

 _"Yeah—"_ More cursing and incoherent mumbling. _"No, I'm fine. Can you get me a towel?"_

Then, she could hear Anna taking a deep, slow breath. _"Sorry about that. Shock, I guess."_

A shadow of a smile crossed her features. "Tell me about it."

They stayed in silence for a moment, and Rapunzel hated it, because she got time to think. And the first thought that crossed her mind was of _him_. And then of _him_ and _her_. And them of a bunch of other scenarios involving _him_ or _her_.

 _"What are you doing right now?"_ Anna asked.

Rapunzel hummed. "Trying to clean up my apartment. Not succeeding."

 _"Why's that?"_

Rapunzel sighed. "Just a bunch of feelings, you know?"

It was Anna's turn to hum. Rapunzel realized that Anna could relate to her in a very personal way. Although the details diverged, both the girls had faced betrayal and hurt from their at-the-time-loved ones.

"I feel sick," Rapunzel continued. "My eyes hurt from crying so much, I had a totally humiliating meltdown at work, and I'm tired of feeling so emotional. I mean, I'm not the one who fucked up, why should I feel bad? I wish I could… just... not care."

 _"Don't say that,"_ Anna said gently. _"You're hurting right now, and you're allowed to. But don't say you don't want to care. You're too sweet for that, Punz. Don't let some… jerks make you stop being who you are."_

"This sucks."

 _"I know."_

"I wanna scream."

 _"Then scream."_

And she did.

She screamed from the depths of her lungs until she was out of breath. She had the delicacy of pulling the phone away from her face, but she knew Anna could still hear her. She screamed until her face was red and her breath was uneven and her muscles hurt and her heart rate increased, and despite it all, she felt so much better after that.

She would probably receive noise complaints from her neighbors later, but it was worth it.

"That was cathartic," Rapunzel said on the phone.

Anna giggled. _"You'll get over it, Punz. Trust me. And if things become too much and you need a change of pace, you're always welcome to stay with me. We can even go cake tasting and say that it's for the wedding."_

Rapunzel laughed. "Yeah…" Rapunzel tucked her hair behind her ear. "So what about you? Whatcha doing?"

 _"Googling strip clubs."_

"Oh, yeah, the bachelorette party." Rapunzel huffed loudly. "Are you sure you wanna go with it? Your sister is gonna kill you."

 _"That's what I got you for. To have my back."_

Rapunzel twirled a lock of hair around her finger. "I am so not gonna get between you and Elsa."

 _"Thanks, Rapunzel. Glad to know where your alliances lie."_

She sighed dramatically. "Fine. Run your plan by me."

 _"Okay. Hear me out: this is what I got so far…"_

* * *

 **It's very raw... but if I hadn't upped this chapter soon, I would have fallen in a slump.**

 **Fun fact that I had to cross of the chapter: Rapunzel slept in the bathtub.**


	7. Chapter 7

Rapunzel and Wasabi waited by Peri's desk for Elsa to arrive. They had a big meeting scheduled with the other departments, and the latter was uncharacteristically late that morning. They chatted quietly not to disturb the junior editor's work, as Peri seemed to be struggling with stressful phone calls.

"Are you free at lunch?" Rapunzel asked as she twirled a lock of hair around her finger. "There's something I wanna do, and I would appreciate the moral support."

Wasabi hummed for a moment as he ran his schedule in his head. "Yeah, I'm free. Whatcha need me for?"

Rapunzel bit on her lower lip. "I don't wanna overthink it, so I'll tell you later."

"Well, isn't that mysterious?"

The blonde winked. "What's a gal without her secrets?"

Wasabi chuckled shaking his head, then nodded as he spotted Elsa rushing in and throwing hurried greetings at whoever passed her way.

Elsa unceremoniously dropped her bag on her desk and fumbled in it for her planner.

"Somebody partied a little bit too hard at the fancy ball last night," Wasabi mocked as he checked his nails.

Elsa half-huffed half-laughed throwing a glare at him. "I lost my phone and had to buy a new one," she said waving her brand new device in her hand.

"Damn." Rapunzel narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she pushed herself off the desk she had been sitting on. "You did party hard, didn't you?"

Elsa rolled her eyes as she joined the others. "As if. Let's go, we shouldn't keep the boss waiting."

"Says the girl running late," Wasabi mocked.

Rapunzel laughed along. "Ready to go, Peri?"

"Yeah, just a sec!" Periwinkle scribbled on a post-it note and stuck it on her monitor.

"Busy morning?" Elsa asked as they made their way to the meeting.

Peri hummed. "Kinda. Checking the party's details and that sort of thing."

"Thanks again for taking my place, Peri. I owe you one."

"No problem," the younger editor said shyly.

"Let me know if you need help with anything. At least while I'm still around."

"When do you leave again?"

"At the end of the day."

Peri nodded, and they immediately stopped talking as they reached the designated conference room. They were the last members to join the meeting, and their merciless boss made a point to let them know how unimpressed he was with their tardiness.

"I see punctuality was not a requirement when my editors were hired," Pitch commented as they made their way to the back of the room.

"Apologies, sir," Elsa said. "It was actually me—"

He lifted a hand to stop the woman from talking. "Now that all my staff is present, shall we commence the meeting?"

* * *

"Hold the door!"

Hiro instinctively stretched his arm to stop the elevator's door from closing. With a yawn, he mumbled to himself, "déjà vu."

Hiccup rushed in carrying a big box of donuts and smiled at his friend. "Thanks, Hiro."

Hiro yawned again in response and stepped to the side to let the other guy in. He blinked multiple times, having a hard time keeping his eyes open.

"How late did you stay last night?" Hiccup asked with reprimanding narrowed eyes.

Hiro leaned against the wall, his eyes blankly staring at the elevator panel. "Around midnight, maybe?"

Hiccup was about to nag about it, but Hiro added first, "And before you say anything, most of that time was spent eating pizza and playing Hero's Duty."

"Really?" the auburn-haired guy asked with curiosity. "What brought that change of pace? N-not that I'm complaining…" Hiccup stuttered as he added the last part.

"I met a girl from the eleventh, and she was hungry, so I invited her to join me."

"Oh, really?" Hiccup's voice came out too high for Hiro's liking.

The Asian-American guy watched a dumb grin form on Hiccup's face and rolled his eyes at the latter's lousy attempts at hiding it. "Stop looking at me like that, Hiccup," he snarled. "You're creeping me out."

"Sorry." Hiccup coughed behind his hand, but he couldn't hide the smile on his lips. "So, what else happened?"

"Nothing much." Hiro shrugged. "She knows a lot about video games, so we talked about that for a while."

"Hmm…" Hiccup scratched his chin stealing furtive glances at Hiro from the corner of his eyes.

"What?" Hiro spat.

Hiccup raised his arms to show his innocence. "I didn't say anything!"

The elevator doors opened and Hiccup let Hiro out first.

"You're acting like you know something," Hiro stated.

"Well, forgive me if I'm a little surprised you showed interest in another human."

Hiro glared at Hiccup from over his shoulders. "When did I ever say that?"

Hiccup shrugged. "It was implied."

Hiro rolled his eyes. "You're delusional. And here I thought Frost was the one who was paid to have a wild imagination."

They walked through the office's doors, and their conversation ceased as they found an unknown brown-haired young man with big bright dark eyes sitting on their couch. The stranger seemed to struggle between remaining seated or getting up to greet them.

Hiro slowly moved his eyes from the kid to his business partner. Hiccup mirrored his confusion with knitted eyebrows and ajar mouth.

Heels clicked closer and Violet greeted them from the upper floor. "Morning, gentlemen, I've been waiting for you two."

Hiro narrowed his eyes at her, then looked back at Hiccup.

"...Is this Bring Your Nephew to Work day?"

* * *

Jack nodded along as Elsa talked, trying hard to look interested. They had been discussing his freshly printed contract, and he got bored pretty quickly. He'd done that before. He knew how the music played, and he just wanted to sign that stupid piece of paper, shake some hands and go get some celebratory ice cream on the way home.

He looked up from the contract he was pretending to read and found Pitch staring at him from across the table. The older man had his hands folded over his stomach and a smug expression on his face.

"What are _you_ doing here again?" Jack asked interrupting the conversation.

"My schedule cleared up, and I was told that attending the contract signing of our new, very prestigious author would send a good message to the rest of the staff," Pitch informed calmly.

"Are you mocking me?"

"Human Resources would advice me not to answer that."

Jack's eyes narrowed with annoyance.

It was then that Elsa cleared her throat as she stared at him with a raised eyebrow. "Would you like to take a break, Mr. Frost?"

Jack sat up smirking, his voice taking a deeper tone. "No, that won't be necessary. But I do think we could proceed to more exciting matters."

Pitch scoffed, and as eyes turned in his direction, he swung on his chair to hide his face.

"Well." Elsa sighed flipping the pages on the contract. "If there are no questions left, all we need now is your signature." She put the papers in front of him and pointed at a line at the bottom of the page.

As soon as the silverhead was done, Pitch took a copy of the contract and quickly checked its content. "Congratulations, Mr. Frost. You are officially a member of the Guardians," he said.

"Thank you."

"As specified in your contract, you are to establish a schedule of meetings with your editor." He nodded at Elsa, who seemed to be avoiding her boss' eyes, then added, "Who will also be responsible for regulating your expenses."

Jack narrowed his eyes as his brain tried to understand Pitch's last few words. "Excuse me?"

"Which part of my speech did you have difficulty understanding?" Pitch asked with a condescending sigh.

Jack rolled his shoulders back. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe the part where you said Elsa was going to control my money."

"You seem to have grasped the concept quite accurately."

"Are you fucking with me?" Jack snarled.

"He is not, Mr. Frost," Elsa said calmly. "It's all in the contract."

"Like hell it's in the contract," Jack mumbled and flipped through his copy with growing anger.

"It is," Elsa insisted. "Which you would know if you had read it properly."

Jack stopped. He had found it. And he couldn't believe his eyes. It really said right there that Elsa was to see his income and it was up to her to determine whether his expenses were relevant and should be covered by his author budget or not.

His jaw clenched. His throat burned, and his vision darkened. He seethed. He opened and closed his fist multiple times.

"It is only an insurance measurement," Elsa said gently, her eyes conveyed a hint of pity as if she truly felt bad for him.

He hated it.

"And why, pray tell, did you find the need for this measurement, Miss Arenderelle?" the silverhead asked with contempt.

"Before you go accusing my employee, Frost, you should know that it was a decision made between your uncle and myself, after taking your unstable history into consideration."

Jack threw his hands in the air. "You can't give me an allowance and ask me to behave like I'm still a kid, Pitch."

Pitch placed his hands on the table and looked straight at him. "Well, we can discuss your probation once you start acting like an adult, Jack."

Jack kept glaring at him but said nothing more. He couldn't. For a mixture of reasons, really. Like him not wanting to be sued for hitting his new superior after going too far, or him considering that 'behaved kid' clause in the contract for real and his wallet being very, very empty at the moment… And maybe, just maybe, a part of him felt guilty… a tinier part of him even felt ashamed.

"I believe you have been informed of all your employment details," Pitch said, making Jack roll his eyes.

Pitch then looked at Elsa. "I also believe you have a train to catch, Miss Arendelle?"

Elsa checker her watch and immediately started collecting her belongings. "Time surely flew by," she muttered. "As we discussed, Vidia will have your profile ready as soon as possible."

"I look forward to working with you, Mr. Frost," Elsa said gently placing a hand on his shoulder. "And let me know if there's anything I can do for you."

Jack looked at her hand with confusion. "Sure," he said begrudgingly. "I intend to do just that."

Elsa smiled. "You have my number." She looked at her boss. "As well as you, sir."

Pitch hummed. "Have a safe trip, Miss Arendelle."

She thanked him and gave them her farewells.

And with that, she was gone.

* * *

It was like his skull was being hammered, and with each bang, the dizziness increased. His bones hurt, his body felt heavy, and there was a throbbing pain that stopped him from opening his eyes. The banging continued echoing around him and making his ears vibrate for only God knows how long.

 _"Flynn, open this goddamn door!"_ he heard the somewhat muffled yell, but couldn't identify its source.

 _"Easy there, Hulk Smash,"_ another voice said. _"Here. See? Spare key."_

He heard the front door being unlocked and people walked inside. The steps stopped right next to him. Slowly, he opened his eyes, but his vision was too blurry to really see anything.

"Morning, sunshine," the previous yelling voice said. "You skipped training."

Eugene narrowed his eyes until they focused on the bulky guy standing over him with a scowl on his face and his arms crossed over his chest.

"The fuck are you doing here?"

"Making sure you're not dead on a puddle of your own vomit and tears," Merida said. She had found an empty garbage bag and was throwing empty cans and disposable containers in it with disgusted grunts.

Eugene groaned and buried his face back on the pillow.

"Get off the couch, asshole," Maui said.

Eugene ignored him.

"Flynn..." Maui called with a sigh. "Come on, we bought soup."

"Don't you have a job to go to?" Eugene asked accusingly.

"Took the day off to check on your sorry ass," Maui said pushing the other guy by the arm. "Feel grateful, you bastard."

Eugene groaned. His wobbly legs could not carry his weight, so he had to lean on Maui for support. "And you?" he asked looking at the redhead.

Merida shrugged. "One of the perks of being self-employed is that I get to make my own schedules," she said as she looked him up and down. "Someone's shower is overdue."

Eugene laughed dryly and pushed himself off Maui and back onto the couch. "Why bother? My life is over anyway."

"Oh, get over yourself." Merida rolled his eyes. "The girl dumped you, and she had the right to do so—I mean, seriously, Flynn? Her mother?"

Maui hissed. "Red…"

Merida put her hands on her hips and breathed in slowly. "My point is that you gotta move on."

Eugene rolled his shoulders back and lifted his chin to glare at her. "You wouldn't understand."

The redhead crossed her arms. "Try me."

"I love her."

"Yeah," Maui scoffed. "And your love for her sent you straight to her mom's pants," he mumbled.

Merida hit him on the top of the head, making him flinch in pain.

"What? It did..."

"Is this what you came here for?" Eugene snarled glowering back and forth between the girl and the guy. "To throw my screw up on my face? Like I'm not aware that I ruined the best part of my life? Well, you can get the hell out of my apartment, because I've been doing plenty of that on my own!"

Merida took the few steps that separated them and grabbed Eugene by the collar of his t-shirt. Her eyes burned with fury, and her breath was shallow and quick. "Yeah, that's right!" She pointed a finger at the center of his face. "You. Are. A. Douchebag!"

Merida let go of him with a shove and turned on her heels. "But you know what?" she asked turning her head to face him. "There are people who still care about you. You're still our friend, and we're here to help you."

Maui patted Eugene's shoulder. "You gotta get out of this funk, man."

Eugene looked down shaken. "It's not that easy…"

"We know it's not," Merida shouted, her impatience not entirely gone. "But you gotta keep trying." Her eyes softened, and the anger was replaced by sadness. "You owe us that."

Maui placed both his hands on Eugene's back and push-led him around the couch. "Now go get rid of that stench while we fix you some nice and heartwarming soup."

Eugene dragged his feet to the bathroom, mumbling incoherently to himself all the way there.

"Okay…" Maui put his hands on his waist and looked at Merida.

"Do you know how to use the stove?"

* * *

Tinkerbell was running late, so she didn't pay much attention to the background on her way to the office. But she did notice the random kid sitting on their couch munching on a pink donut as soon as she walked in.

"Hi…" Tink said with a frown. She looked around, but could not see any of the staff present. "Where are…"

The stranger shyly pointed at the back door.

Tink thanked him and made her way to the workshop, and as soon as she opened the door, she could hear the distressed voices of her teammates. The adults were gathered in a circle, yelling at each other, while Guy sat on a corner with a box of donuts on his lap.

"You can't just kick that poor boy out like that," Hiccup whined. "He's got nowhere else to go."

"Yeah, my money is on him being in the country illegally..." Wilbur said.

Tink walked to Guy and poked him in the ribs. "What the hell is going on?" she whispered.

Guy shrugged. "Kid read Boss One and Boss Two's interview, that one about us being a big happy family and making a world a better place, and flew from Middle of Nowhere, France to work here. Donut?" Guy offered her the box.

Tink pulled a chair and joined him on the sweets eating. "And what are they doing now?" she asked pointing at the arguing four.

"Trying to figure out what to do with him."

"Oh my God, stop referring to him like he's a stray dog!" Violet shouted.

"You found him sleeping on our goddamn front door!" Hiro shouted back.

"Doesn't give you the right to treat him like an unwanted pet!"

"Oh, yeah?" Hiro laughed. "How about I treat him like an unwanted human! Because that's what he is."

"Okay, Hiro." Hiccup stepped in front of the other guy and placed a hand on Hiro's chest. "That's too much."

"We were thinking about hiring a new person," Wilbur reasoned. "Why not the kid? He's got passion."

"I meant hiring someone with the skills to handle the work," Hiro snarled.

"How about a trial stage?" Hiccup suggested, and skeptical eyes watched him. "Look, I'm just not comfortable with sending him away without even giving him a chance."

Hiro threw his arms in the air. "Are you serious, Haddock? You're really considering hiring an illegal immigrant who can't even work the printer from what we know?"

Hiccup shrugged.

"Why not?" Wilbur said. "Tink and Guy did a great job teaching the children at the orphanage, they can probably help the kid get the hang of it."

"Hey!" Tink jumped up indignantly. "Why don't you go back to reading news and drinking coffee, Mr. Lawyer?"

Wilbur laughed with contempt. "You don't know what my job is, huh?"

Tink stuck her tongue out at him.

"It's actually not a bad idea," Hiccup reasoned. "What do you think, guys?"

Guy shrugged. "I'm fine with it."

Tink nodded. "I mean, it can't be worse than training Guy." She laughed. "You were practically a caveman."

Guy rolled his eyes, but Hiccup's hand on his shoulder stopped him from giving a comeback.

"See? That's the spirit!" Hiccup said.

"And then what?" Hiro shook his head with disapproval. "You gonna lend him your dog's bed and spread newspaper on the floor?"

" _His name_ is Victor," Violet said with a glower in the boss' direction. "And he's not a pet!"

"He can stay with me," Guy suggested. "We have a free couch."

"Great!" Hiccup clapped once. "Let's go tell Victor the news!"

The team followed Hiccup to the door, Hiro begrudgingly going last. Making his dissatisfaction clear to all, he grumbled, "I swear to God, Hiccup, one of these days, life is gonna come to bite you in the ass for being such a duck."

"Yeah, well, luckily, I'll have you to nag about it then."

* * *

Jack had the contract in his hands. He was just finishing reading the whole thing. Page by page. Sentence by sentence. Word by goddamn word.

"You fucking tricked me," he said tossing the papers on the table.

 _"Yes, yes, you're upset,"_ his uncle's voice came from his phone on speaker. _"You feel betrayed, that's very understandable."_

Jack let out a snort and leaned back crossing his arms. "Then get rid of that babysitter you gave me."

 _"Don't worry, Jack. Elsa is an angel. You will love working with her!"_

"Not the point, North," Jack said with a roll of eyes.

"I, too look forward to seeing what you two can accomplish together," Pitch agreed.

Jack glared at the other guy. "Why are _you_ still here?"

"This is my publisher, Mr. Frost." Pitch shrugged. "I can do whatever I want."

Jack rolled his eyes.

 _"As we discussed, Jack, the clause is only there to stop you from running off to Australia, or some other part of the globe on a whim."_

"I actually have a friend in Australia. Owns a circus. Cool dude, total schemer."

"Fascinating," Pitch said sarcastically.

Jack cleared his throat. "Anyway, you two are going to regret plotting against me."

Pitch rolled his eyes. "I can't wait."

 _"Don't be so gloomy, nephew. How about you come to the Globe of Belief Award Ceremony for an enjoyable night with your old uncle?"_

"Isn't that the kids' book award?"

Pitch nodded as North's roaring voice confirmed with excitement, _"It is indeed!"_

Jack groaned. "Pass."

 _"Don't say that. It will be fun! I've been told that Rapunzel—you met her, right? The young lady with a smile as bright as the sun!—will be joining us there."_

"What the fuck, you banging Sunshine too?"

* * *

Anna groaned as she crushed the piece of paper she had been scribbling on into a ball. She let her body fall forward and her forehead hit the counter. Then she hit it again. And again. And again.

"Sweetheart, is there a problem?" Her mother's voice was calm but concerned.

"No, I'm just trying to write my vows," Anna said, her voice muffled by the counter.

"I thought you should have those ready by now."

"Yeah, yeah." Anna straightened up and shrugged with nonchalance. Her mother was watching her with a gentle smile on her face. "It's hard writing secret vows when your fiancé is practically living under the same roof as you. Besides, there was all the rest of the wedding to plan. I mean, what if there was no frosting for the cake? That would be a disaster."

Her mother chuckled. "I thought Elsa was supposed to be helping with that kind of thing."

Anna considered making something up, but she figured her mother would be able to see through her, so she grumbled, "Okay, fine. I may have procrastinated a little bit, but don't tell Elsa!"

"Your sister will be here at any moment," her mother reminded her. "Unless you finish it in, say, the next ten minutes, I don't think I will have to tell her anything."

"Ten minutes, you say?" Anna rolled up the sleeves of her shirt and rotated her shoulders a couple of times. "Challenge accepted."

As Anna worked on round two of writing her vows, the doorbell rang.

"Let me get that for you," Iduna offered when her daughter showed no intentions of seeing to the door.

Two sets of voices could be heard talking and laughing, and Anna wondered who it could be. Elsa still had her house key, so it shouldn't be her at the door. She leaned back on her stool and peeked at the entrance. Her face lit up and she jumped to her feet to greet the guest.

"Tooth!" she shouted and went to hug her friend. "You're here!"

"I figured you'd be getting a little bit of cold feet, so I brought you some calming treats." Tooth pulled away from the younger woman and shook a fancy paper bag in her hands.

"Thanks, Tooth!" Anna opened the bag to find a package of chocolate chip cookies and a tin of chamomile tea.

"Oh, let me prepare some of this lovely tea for us," Iduna took the gifts from Anna's hands and gave Tooth a grateful smile.

Anna took Tooth's hands and led her to the kitchen table.

"So? How are you feeling?" Tooth asked giddily.

"Oh, I'm fine," Anna answered with a wave of her hand. "I mean, I'm just getting married. Tomorrow. With the man I love. Saying my vows. That I haven't written yet." She stopped for a moment and frowned. "And I'll walk down the aisle with a chocolate stain on my dress, because I thought it would help calm down my nerves, and it fell." She sucked in a deep breath. "And I'll probably trip and fall on my face." The hyperventilating began. "And all the guests will laugh like 'who's that clown rocking the dirty white gown?', but I'm fine. I'm fine. Why shouldn't I be fine? I'm fine. Of course I'm fine. I'm fi—"

Anna stopped talking as Tooth placed both hands on the blonde's face.

"Honey." Tooth looked at her sternly. "You're forgetting to breathe."

Anna nodded and tried to breathe in. Her throat hurt. Then she breathed out. Then in, and out again. She repeated the breathing exercise until she felt herself calming down.

"Is she having another of her wedding crisis?" Kristoff's voice startled her.

In the middle of her near-panic attack, she didn't even hear the front door opening, nor her fiancé, plus guests, walking in.

"Another one?" Elsa asked putting her bags on the floor and staring at the younger Arendelle with narrowed eyes. "Is that a frequent occurrence?"

"Elsa!" Anna rushed to hug her sister. The hug was so tight that she heard Elsa choking. "You're here!"

"Hello, Anna," Elsa said short of breath.

The hug didn't last long as Anna spotted her cousin, and her eyes grew with excitement. "Ohmygoshpunzie!" Anna let go of her sister to put her hands on Rapunzel's shoulders. "Your hair!"

"Hey, cuz," Rapunzel greeted running her hands through her new brown hair.

Anna walked around the new brunette to inspect the haircut from all angled. Rapunzel was rocking the short bob hair. It curled outwards in layers, giving the woman a more modern and edgy appearance. "You look so awesome!"

Rapunzel chuckled shyly. Her smile faltered for a second, and she immediately added, "Yeah, I figured it was time for a little change."

Anna crossed her arms and glared at her cousin. "Damn, Rapunzel, are you trying to overshadow me on my own wedding day?"

Rapunzel did a dramatic hair flick. "Honey, by the time I'm done producing you, you're gonna have all the eligible people in that venue sobbing that they don't get to marry you."

"Kristoff better watch out," Elsa mocked with a laugh, making the guy in question throw glares at her.

"Especially," Rapunzel continued, "when you're wearing the amazing dress that I made."

Anna had to hold herself from jumping up and down like a child. "Does that mean it's done?" She slapped her forehead. "Of course it is, otherwise I'd have to marry wearing my PJ's." A shadow of uncertainty crossed her face. "I'm not marrying on my PJ's, am I?".

"No, you're not," Rapunzel replied with a roll of eyes. "Sorry it was so last minute, I had to make sure that it was perfect for you." She squeezed Anna's hands and let out a quick squeal. "Wanna see it?"

"Yeah, I wanna see it!"

Anna suggested that they go check the dress, and all the house's female occupants headed upstairs in a mixture of excited squeals and happy laughs. Anna led the procession, occasionally turning her head to talk to the rest of the group, and almost tripping over once.

But when Kristoff and her father made mention of joining them, Elsa blocked their path. "Sorry, gentlemen," she said with a sarcastic smile. "I'm afraid the upper floor will be off-limit for you two."

"You're having fun with this, aren't you?" Kristoff asked with an eyebrow raised.

Elsa shrugged. "It's tradition."

"Tradition says nothing about the father of the bride," Agnarr commented.

"You'll have to wait until tomorrow to see the dress."

"Oh, can't tomorrow come any sooner?" the Arendelle patriarch groaned dramatically.

"I think I need a drink," Kristoff mumbled as he ran a hand through his face.

"Make that two, son. Knowing my girls, they're probably gonna be in there for a while."

* * *

"Oh, baby when you knead like that, you make all the kitchen go mad."

As Astrid heard those words, she couldn't avoid shifting her attention from the stove to the idiot that had spoken them. She saw Snotlout munching on a tomato as he leaned against Ruffnut's workspace.

"Ew. get off my counter," Ruff said kicking Snotlout's legs and making him sprawl on the floor with pathetic cries of pain.

"Chef down!" Tuff shouted as he jumped over Snotlout's body.

Astrid crossed her arms and watched the fallen cook clumsily getting on his feet. "Are you hitting on Ruffnut?"

"Who else would I be hitting on?" Snotlout grumbled rubbing his hurt… everything.

Astrid shrugged. "It's not really a kitchen requirement, you know."

Snotlout snorted straightening up and raising his head high. "Am I dreaming, or is Astrid Hofferson jealous?"

"That fall probably gave you a concussion. You're not thinking straight… straighter than usual," Astrid said turning back to the pans over the stove.

Snotlout walked past her to get to his own station. "Sorry, babe, but you lost a chance at all of this"—Snotlout gestured to himself—"when you hooked up with scrawny cousin dear. Bros before hoes, and all that."

Astrid pointed at him with a wooden spoon. "Did you just call me a hoe?"

"In the best way possible!" Snotlout said chuckling.

"I don't think you're helping your case that much, pal," Tuff shouted.

"What? Astrid knows I'm complimenting her, right, babe?" Snotlout winked at her.

Astrid glared at him. "Only reason I haven't punched you yet is because health inspectors wouldn't be much understanding of human blood in the stew. No matter the asshole it came from."

Snotlout opened his mouth to retort, but his reply was lost as the kitchen door burst open and Eret rushed in.

"Table four's order ready or what?" he asked glowering at each of the chefs.

Astrid finished plating the required order and Ruff took it with a quick word of gratitude. "There you go, handsome," she purred holding the plate for the guy.

"Thanks," Eret mumbled before leaving the kitchen.

"Oh, come on," As soon as the door closed, Snotlout groaned throwing his arms in the air. "What does that jerk have that I don't?"

"Besides the body of a modern Adonis?" Ruff asked with a challenging arch of an eyebrow.

Tuff nodded walking up to stand beside his sister. "I mean, seriously, have you seen his abs?" He moaned. "You could cut pineapples on those."

A loud sound of crashing glass came from the dining room. All kitchen staff stopped as they heard several objects shattering, and then a loud thud. And then a lot of screaming.

"What was that?" Astrid wondered.

"Someone had a little bit too much wine with their steak," Snotlout sang shaking his head in disapproval.

They tried to get back to work, and they did for a while, but the noises only increased. Astrid adamantly stopped them from leaving their stations, claiming that they had work to do and that someone from the dining room staff would have come to inform them if something really important had happened.

"Uh… guys?" Snotlout asked. He had snuck out of his workspace and was peeking through the door's glass window. "Why are there paramedics in the dining room?"

* * *

 **My writing is a mess. You think following all subplots is hard? Welcome to my world, buddy. I kinda have the whole story roughly planned now, but it takes so long to write one chapter that I forget what already happened and what didn't. Like, "is Rapunzel supposed to be mad at Eugene in this? Still?"**

 **I know I said this before but lemme say this again: the OUAT team did an amazing job at the Frozen adaptation. The story makes sense, the costumes are perfect, actors are great, and they have some really cool lines. I usually go to OUAT Anna as a reference more than Frozen Anna. But no, I don't consider it canon to the Frozen universe. Frozen 2, though? I don't even know what to expect.**

 **Challenge for you guys: find my favorite quote of all the chapter and I will let you choose one interaction for any character(s). That's how proud I am of that line. **


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